23 imported vehicle brands won't increase their prices after the removal of the restrictions

The Chamber of Importers and Official Distributors of Automobiles (CIDOA) announced that, following the removal of the currency control, its members will not apply price increases on vehicles entering the country.

"The 23 vehicle brands grouped in CIDOA support the government's new measures regarding the exchange rate and DO NOT modify any of their prices," the entity stated in a statement released on Friday.

CIDOA brings together a diverse set of automotive brands, ranging from the German BMW —with a direct presence in Argentina— to firms that have not yet entered the local market, such as the Chinese BYD, which in 2024 surpassed Tesla as the world leader in electric car production.

"Until last week we were paying a currency dollar of $1,074 and now it has become $1,230 or whatever it will quote in the new floating band," explained a chamber representative when consulted by the media outlet Clarín. "Still, nobody wants to touch the prices because there is much more competition than with the closed economy, and the fear is not selling," he acknowledged.

What the 23 brands that make up the CIDOA chamber share is that they import 100% of their vehicles from outside Mercosur, which means that each unit enters the country with a 35% tariff.

Conversely, cars coming from Mercosur —that is, from Brazil, Mexico, Colombia, and other countries with specific trade agreements— do not pay import tariffs. These units belong to automakers that produce locally and are grouped in the Association of Automotive Manufacturers (ADEFA).

The companies of ADEFA, currently responsible for more than 90% of new car sales in the domestic market, did not adjust their prices after the lifting of the currency control.

An exception was Volkswagen, which updated its price list with an average increase of 3.6% sent to its dealer network. The other brands that are part of ADEFA —such as Ford, Renault, Toyota, Fiat, Peugeot, General Motors, Nissan, Honda, and Mercedes-Benz— kept their values unchanged in the face of the new exchange scheme.

In the case of vehicles entering from outside the region —known as "extrazone" and subject to the 35% tariff— almost all brands are represented in CIDOA, except for some super-premium ones like Ferrari.

The composition of CIDOA

The automakers within the chamber are grouped by their country of origin. Among the European and North American ones are Alfa Romeo, BMW, Jaguar, Land Rover, Mack, Mini, Porsche, and Volvo, all with a long history in the country. There are also Japanese and Korean brands without local production, such as Hyundai, Isuzu, Kia, Suzuki, and Subaru, which arrived between the '70s and '90s.

A notable segment within CIDOA is the Chinese automakers, which represent 10 of the 23 brands in the group. Among them are BAIC, Chery, DFSK, Foton, Haval, JAC, JMC (which also manufactures the Ford Territory at its Nanchang plant), and Shineray.

A striking absence is Geely. This Chinese firm, which is a global partner of Renault, used to be part of CIDOA, and even its logo still appears on the entity's website. However, Geely became part of Mercosur: it bought 49% of Renault Brazil and in Argentina shares the Horse engine factory with the French brand, located near Córdoba airport.

Meanwhile, two Chinese brands within CIDOA —BYD and Great Wall— are in the process of also becoming regional manufacturers. BYD is building a plant in Camaçari, in the Brazilian state of Bahia, on a site that belonged to Ford. Great Wall, meanwhile, has already installed its factory in Iracemápolis, in São Paulo, whose inauguration is scheduled for this year.