The automotive sector celebrates accelerated sales growth this year. Anfavea now projects that 3.1 million vehicles, both light and heavy, will be sold by the end of the year, representing a significant increase of 15.2% compared to 2025. Even Fenabrave, known for its cautious projections, acknowledged that demand remains high, although final year data still needs review. One of the factors cited for these positive results is the considerable increase in the availability of electric, plug-in hybrid, and conventional models.
In the previous month, 281.4 thousand registrations were recorded, a level not seen since December 2014. To illustrate the market acceleration in 2026, Anfavea's initial estimates predicted a modest annual growth of 2.7%; however, it is now expected that 3.1 million units will be sold by the end of 2026.
Despite the general optimism, there are points of concern. While the market grew by 18%, domestic production only advanced by 9%. Records indicate that imports increased by 30.4% in the period from January to September 2026, compared to the same period last year. Chinese brands gained prominence, registering a growth of 106.4%.
Regarding local manufacturing, Igor Calvet, president of Anfavea, observed that much of this increase is due to vehicles arriving completely or partially disassembled from China, without utilizing the Brazilian auto parts chain and with little labor participation. Cesar Alarcon, president of Pirelli for Latin America, used a sports analogy when commenting to Jornal do Carro: 'We entered the field with three fewer players against imported Chinese tires.'
In another segment, the City, manufactured in Brazil since 2009, which was initially only a sedan, will arrive in the 2027 model year with a new RS hatchback version. This version has a price difference of R$ 2,100 compared to the Touring sedan. The visual modifications are concentrated on the front end, featuring new LED headlights and eliminating fog lights. On the more expensive versions, a thin illuminated strip connects the headlights. The bumpers also show differences between the hatchback and sedan versions. Laterally, there are no changes, except for the new 16-inch alloy wheels (although the entry-level version retains conventional 15-inch steel wheels with hubcaps). The rear also received renewed bumpers for both models.
The City RS is distinguished by its glossy black roof, mirror covers, and rear deflector (which is not a spoiler). The alloy wheels on this version have a darkened finish. Internally, it features an aluminum pedal set and a new 10-inch multimedia center with wireless mirroring and USB-C ports on the Touring and RS versions. A notable detail is that the volume can be adjusted by sliding two fingers vertically on the screen, and the mute function is activated with four fingers.
The semi-autonomous assistance system, named Sensing by Honda, was maintained starting from the intermediate EX version. This set includes autonomous emergency braking, a camera on the right rearview mirror, a wide-view front camera, adaptive cruise control with low-speed stop-and-go capability, lane departure mitigation, lane keeping assist, and automatic high beam switching.
From a mechanical point of view, there were no changes. The 1.5L flex engine, with naturally aspirated direct injection, delivers 126 hp (using ethanol or gasoline), with a minimal torque variation of 15.8 kgf·m with vegetable fuel and 15.5 kgf·m with petroleum derivative. In terms of consumption, it achieves 9.1 km/l in the city and 10.8 km/l on the highway with ethanol, and 12.9 km/l in the city and 15.3 km/l on the highway with gasoline. The transmission used in all cases is automatic CVT. Prices range between R$ 118,800 and R$ 157,500 for the hatchback, and between R$ 118,800 and R$ 156,400 for the sedan.
