Chinese, American, Japanese or Korean. This is probably one of the dilemmas those faced in recent years by those who wish to purchase a vehicle: the nation of origin of the brand. Domination by the market automotive that globally pits traditional manufacturers against Chinese producers is a battle that is also being fought in the dominican market.
If the car is hybrid propulsionthe japanese firms they control exports to the country; if it is a electric busthe Chinese have no competition. On the other hand, in cars or jeepets that are powered by electricity, the Americans are ahead. In the case of trucks with the same propulsion, the Koreans lead.
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This is reflected in the statistics of the General Directorate of Customs (DGA), between 2021 and 2025, a period in which the entry into the country of 9,689 electric units of all types was reported, including vans, golf carts, pickup trucks, minivans, among others, for an amount of 185.7 million dollars.
During that same period, they arrived in the country 14,270 hybrid vehicleswhose value totaled 164.2 million dollars. In this segment, the type units jeepeta and carmanufactured by Japanese brands such as Honda, Toyota and Nissan They do not leave room for competition from brands from other nations.
China and Korea in heavy
The companies chinese automotive They exported to the Dominican Republic all types of electric vehicle units in the last five years. However, its main domain lay in buses with that type of propulsion.
The records of the DGA show that the six brands of buses that entered the Dominican territory between 2021 and 2025which added 282 unitswere imported from the Asian nation, three of them: Zhongtong, J.A.C., and King Long They concentrated 91.5% of the total, equivalent to 258 units.
In the types of heavy vehiclesmost of the import of electric trucks They were also produced by a automotive Asian, in this case for the Korean Hyundai.
Of the 64 vehicles Of that type that entered, 29 units were of the aforementioned brand, equivalent to 45.3%. The remaining 35 electric trucks They belong to different Chinese manufacturers, including Weichai (12) and Farizon (5).
USA dominates in lightweight
Judging by the number of light vehicles from the American brand tesla that were imported into the country between 2021 and 2025it can be inferred that Dominicans prefer cars and electric jeeps of that brand above others.
They entered the country 268 electric cars of that manufacturer in the aforementioned period, followed by the Chevroletalso American, with 154. Its closest competitor is the automotive China BYDwith 138 units.
In the case of jeepetas that are driven by electricity, the tesla added 365 vehicles of this type in the last five years, followed by Chinese brands BYD (269) and Volvo (209).
Japan in hybrids
In total dominance of the hybrid segment, the japanese firms Honda, Toyota, Nissan and Lexus do not leave room for competition from automotive from other countries.
In hybrid carsbetween 2021 and 2025Honda (1,182), toyota (1,008) and Nissan (459) accounted for 94.3% of the imports Dominicans of that type of unit, which amounted to 2,810, according to Customs statistics.
In the jeepetas, the order is exchanged. The automotive toyota dominated that segment, with 4,387 imported units, followed by Honda (3,363) and Lexus (1,394), adding up to 83.2% of the total for the period, which reached 10,984 vehicles.
Rare earths and electric vehicles
China and the United States are fighting a trade battlel, what worked to that scenario the so-called rare earths, essential materials for the electric vehicles. Data from the International Energy Agency indicate that the Asian country controls more than 60% of extraction and 92% of its refined production worldwide.
In the confrontation, China used the rare earth as a weapon, imposing in April 2025 the obligation of an export license for companies that process these minerals, causing the United States to denounce a breach of the Geneva agreement.
rare earths such as neodymium and dysprosium allow us to manufacture magnets, which play an essential role in electric motors, power steering sensors, regenerative braking systems, among other functionalities.
