Chinese Brands Are Winning Over Skeptical Shoppers in Brazil

When Lucas Silva Ferreira needed a new air conditioner to cool his Rio de Janeiro home in the sweltering February heat, he decided to go with a Chinese model instead of old standbys like LG or Whirlpool.

Ferreira paid just 2,300 reais (about $400) for his new unit from Hisense Home Appliances Group Co., compared with about 4,100 reais for a similar air conditioner made by South Korea’s LG Electronics Inc. The model he chose offered good energy efficiency and more technology features than others at the same price point.

“Considering the product I was looking for, it was ...