China Conquers Mexico’s Automotive Market, and the US Is Worried
www.wired.com
Led by the automaker BYD, China has established itself as the main car supplier in Mexico. The US worries China could use Mexico as a “back door” to sidestep tariffs and gain footing in the US market.

China has positioned itself as the main car supplier in Mexico, with exports reaching $4.6 billion in 2023, according to data from Mexico’s Secretariat of Economy.

The Chinese automaker BYD surpassed Honda and Nissan to position itself as the seventh largest automaker in the world by number of units sold during the April to June quarter. This growth was driven by increased demand for its affordable electric vehicles, according to data from automakers and research firm MarkLines.

The company’s new vehicle sales rose 40 percent year over year to 980,000 units in the quarter—the same quarter wherein most major automakers, including Toyota and Volkswagen, experienced a decline in sales. Much of BYD’s growth is attributed to its overseas sales, which nearly tripled in the past year to 105,000 units. Now BYD is considering locating its new auto plant in three Mexican states: Durango, Jalisco, and Nuevo Leon.

Foreign investment would be an economic boost for Mexico. The company has claimed that a plant there would create about 10,000 jobs. A Tesla competitor, BYD markets its Dolphin Mini model in Mexico for about 398,800 pesos—about $21,300 dollars—a little more than half the price of the cheapest Tesla model.

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That tariff-free access is part of the US-Mexico-Canada Agreement (T-MEC), an updated version of the North American Free Trade Agreement that, as of 2018, eliminated tariffs on many products traded between the North American countries. Under the treaty, if a foreign automotive company that manufactures vehicles in Canada or Mexico can demonstrate that the materials used are locally sourced, its products can be exported to the United States virtually duty-free.

MAGA strikes again

  • jimbolauski@lemm.eeEnglish
    1·
    14 days ago

    So do we have demand for cheap cars or not then? I thought you were arguing the demand wasnt there.

    The demand isn’t there for small cheap vehicles, my point was Americans have no problems buying cheap “foreign” cars.

    Besides you confirmed by opinion that its common to not trust “piles of cheap garbage”.

    My opnion of does not reflect the opnion of the American population, kias and Hyundai sell well here.

    In my opinion the ford focus was just as much a pile of cheap garbage as the rest but people think Ford is more reliable or at least wouldnt try to kill its own citizens.

    Our opinions on vehicles are not the issue. Americans don’t want cheap domestic small cars which is why they don’t sell well here. Americans don’t want cheap small foreign cars not because they don’t trust cheap foreign vehicles but because they don’t want cheap small cars.

    • Rekorse@sh.itjust.worksEnglish
      1·
      12 days ago

      Then why do people want a cheap small electric? It being electric changes the whole equation?

      I know a ton of people that won’t buy new cars to begin with too, you don’t think the used car crowd loves cheap small cars?

      Is it possible instead of the demand not being there at all, its being diverted to used automobiles and so new car sales are skewed to more expensive cars and luxury cars?

      The working class does not buy new cars on the regular as far as I know. The median wage in america is what like 50-55k a year?