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Seven months ago, we announced that Tesla had arrived in the Colombian market looking for blood. With a Model 3 launched below $30,000 and a Model Y below $32,500, the brand was offering a premium feeling for mass market prices, outcompeting pretty much everyone else in the EV landscape, including well known Chinese brands such as BYD and Geely.
And just as we expected, Tesla managed to become the indisputable EV leader, getting 50% of an exploding market for itself (+235% BEV sales so far this year) and gaining the top selling vehicle trophy in the country for the Model Y (mind you, not most sold EV, but most sold vehicle overall).
Now, in a double hit, the brand has entered the Uruguayan market at similarly competitive costs, and has reduced its prices in Chile by up to 25%, bringing the Model 3 and Model Y in line with mass-market ICEVs and recharging a transition which was already happening at full speed.
The Uruguayan market has surpassed even the most optimistic of expectations, and, from a frontrunner in late 2025, it has turned into the absolute EV leader in the Americas, surpassing 40% EV market share several months this year (and getting +40% BEV market share in May).








