For every new vehicle brought from the US, five Chinese units entered the Dominican Republic in 2025.

Santo Domingo — Competitive prices and the incorporation of modern, attractive designs have made new Chinese vehicles the preferred choice for consumers.

China led new vehicle imports with 14,556 units in 2025, while only 2,944 new vehicles were imported from the United States. 

Thus, there are five new Chinese cars being offered for every unit brought from the United States, according to the United Automotive Industry Group of the Dominican Republic ( Guía-RD ), which also explained that the drop in vehicle imports to the Dominican market in general allowed importers to reduce the gaps between supply and demand.

“Although vehicles originating from the United States are exempt from tariffs under the DR-CAFTA (Free Trade Agreement between the Dominican Republic, Central America and the United States), that country alone leads imports of used vehicles with 32,700 units (…), while only 505 used vehicles arrive from China,” the association explained.

He indicated that Dominican consumers are opting for vehicles from the Asian giant because they represent a safe investment with a guarantee from an authorized dealership, which avoids “the risk of venturing into acquiring a used vehicle whose wear and tear and origin are unknown.”

New vehicles are getting cheaper

Adding to this trend is the fact that the FOB value of new vehicles fell to an average of $22,228, which led consumers to favor new vehicles over used ones. The FOB (Free On Board) value is the cost of goods at the port of origin, including the price of the product, packaging costs, local transport, and export procedures, but excluding international freight and insurance to the final destination.

This also encouraged dealers and importers of new vehicles to diversify their offerings to meet new market requirements, leading them to introduce hybrid and super-hybrid vehicles.

These models – whose imports grew by 54.7% last year – added value to the new-car market, “with better fuel efficiency and superior warranties from the manufacturer and dealer.”

Why did vehicle imports decrease?

The reduction in vehicle imports to the Dominican market in 2025 allowed importers to close the supply-demand gap at a time when the economy was slowing and consumers‘ purchasing power was declining.

Guía-RD explained that the Dominican automotive sector has experienced sustained growth for over a decade, with an average annual growth rate of 8%. This led to importers acquiring excess inventory in some years—such as 2023—which stabilized through reduced purchases in subsequent years. 

“This explains why global motor vehicle imports fell by 4% in 2025 compared to 2024,” Guía-RD explained after analyzing Customs data, excluding tourist vehicle categories. Including these, imports fell by 2.72%.

Faced with a global scenario of uncertainty and inflationary pressures, the authorities implemented a restrictive monetary policy that reduced the money supply while increasing active interest rates on personal and consumer loans to 19.4% annually.

This caused consumers to change their patterns as their purchasing power decreased, and it also encouraged dealers and importers of new vehicles to diversify their offerings to meet new market requirements.