10 Cheap Cars in the US but Expensive in Brazil

Paulo Silva
31 de jan.
2 min de leitura

How is it possible that the same car model in the US costs much less than it does in Brazil? There are several reasons, including tax burdens, consumer profile, country infrastructure, among others, that directly affect the purchasing power of people in one country or another.

For example, a new generation Chevrolet Equinox Activ, recently launched in our market, costs just over R$275,000, while in the United States, it starts at around US$36,000.

In the United States, each state has the autonomy to set its own "minimum wage," which is paid per hour worked, but since 2009, there has been a federal minimum wage of US$7.25/hour. This is the amount practiced, for example, in the states of North Dakota, Idaho, and Kansas. Other states, such as Washington, California, and New York, exceed US$15.00/hour, according to data from the US Department of Labor.

Therefore, considering a 220-hour monthly working day, which is the most common for comparison with the Brazilian market, the American minimum wage is US$ 1,595.00, considering the worst-case scenario.

In Brazil, the monthly minimum wage for 2025 was set at R$1,518.00, according to information provided by Creditas. In absolute numbers, we have similar values.

But of course, we cannot keep converting values from dollars to reais or vice versa, since those who are there earn in dollars and spend in dollars. Here, they earn and spend in reais. Therefore, this comparison is about the purchasing power of each population.

Of course, some of the models to be mentioned are produced in the United States, and when they are exported to Brazil, their value ends up increasing due to import taxes, but even so, the discrepancy is quite noticeable, as we will see below (the last one is not that cheap, not even for Americans, but it also serves to further expose this glaring difference in our purchasing power):

Nissan Versa SR