New-vehicle registrations in Colombia jumped 50.1 percent in the first half of 2026 compared with a year earlier, reaching 157,620 units, according to industry data from Bogotá. Brazil’s market expanded 18.4 percent over the same period, with 1.42 million light and heavy vehicles sold. The two surges, driven by fierce competition and a broadening of affordable models, stand in contrast to a more subdued US market, where analysts at Edmunds projected a 1 percent decline in quarterly sales, to 4.1 million units, as gasoline prices above $4 a gallon and elevated interest rates weighed on demand.

The divergence reflects distinct regional dynamics. In Brazil, Chinese manufacturers captured a record 19.7 percent of June sales, consultancy Bright reported, forcing incumbents to offer larger discounts, higher trade-in values and subsidised financing. The government’s Carro Sustentável programme, which waives the industrial-products tax on low-emission compact cars, further supported retail purchases, pushing sales to private buyers above fleet registrations for the first time this year. In the US, the lingering effects of the US-Iran war kept pump prices about 20 percent above year-ago levels, even after a memorandum of understanding on ending the conflict helped prices retreat through June. That pressure pushed some consumers toward fuel-efficient models: hybrid vehicles accounted for roughly 30 percent of Honda’s US sales, and Toyota’s electrified-vehicle deliveries rose 19.5 percent. Yet demand for trucks and SUVs held firm among wealthier buyers, with General Motors reporting higher deliveries of the Chevrolet Equinox and GMC Sierra, and Stellantis posting a 6 percent gain led by Ram pickups.

Brand performance underscored the regional contrasts. Kia led the Colombian market with 20,437 units, a 47.7 percent increase, followed by Renault and Toyota. In Brazil, the BYD Dolphin Mini electric hatchback remained the top-selling model in June, helping BYD reach 107,400 sales in six months, nearly matching its full-year 2025 total. In Russia, AvtoVAZ sold 30,600 Lada vehicles in June, a 14.3 percent year-on-year rise, but first-half sales slipped 2.4 percent to 154,143 units, giving the brand a 24.4 percent market share. The company attributed the monthly gain to stronger demand for the Vesta, Iskra and Niva models, while its president said the most profitable line was the Niva Travel.

The next test for the global market arrives from Brasília, where the import tax on hybrid and electric vehicles was restored to 35 percent on 1 July, ending a preferential rate. The move could reshape the competitive landscape that has fuelled Brazil’s growth, particularly for Chinese brands that have relied on imported models. In the US, the trajectory of gasoline prices will depend on progress in US-Iran talks, while AvtoVAZ plans to launch a new crossover, the Lada Azimut, in September, a step that will gauge domestic appetite for a higher-margin model.