From Fordland to BYDland: China’s hegemony in the Latin American automotive industry. The Mercosur case

Abstract

This article examines the scope and limitations of the automotive industry in Mercosur within the context of the transition towards electromobility, the reconfiguration of global value chains, and the growing influence of China as a central actor in the sector. From a critical international political economy perspective, it analyses how Chinese leadership in the energy, technological, and productive spheres tends to reaffirm Latin America’s historical peripheral insertion in the international division of labour. The study focuses on the case of Build Your Dreams (BYD) in Brazil—the company’s first large-scale project outside China—considered a turning point for understanding the emergence of a new automotive hegemony and its regional implications. The article highlights BYD’s role in introducing electric vehicles, generating new technological dependencies, and intensifying competition with traditional manufacturers. It concludes that BYD’s experience in Brazil reflects both the opportunities for productive integration of Mercosur within the energy transition and the risks of reproducing historical patterns of technological and productive subordination.