Uruguay's Chinese Car Boom Ends on Cheap Brazil, India Imports

  • Chinese share of nation's car market falls to 17% from 23%
  • Narrowing price gap favors name-brand autos over China's

BYD production line.

Photographer: Brent Lewin/Bloomberg
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Uruguayans love their beef, wine and cheap Chinese cars that used to account for almost a quarter of new vehicle sales. But competition from low-cost Brazilian and Indian cars has sent Chinese sales into a tailspin this year.

Chinese passenger vehicle sales tumbled almost 34 percent year-on-year during the first 10 months of 2015, compared to a 9 percent decline in the total market, according to data from Uruguayan automotive trade group ACAU.