Mexico. The Chinese automotive company BYD is negotiating with the Mexican government the extension of a tariff exemption for the import of electric vehicles (EVs) that ended on September 30, 2024.
BYD, which specializes in the manufacture of electric vehicles, has been analyzing the installation of a plant in Mexico for months and, in August, reported that it had received incentives from several states in the country to make the investment.
"We have had some conversations with the Ministry of Economy, not only about the extension of the decree, but also about investment in a manufacturing plant that would create more than 10,000 jobs in Mexico," said the firm's general director in Mexico, Jorge Vallejo.
The rapprochement with the federal government seeks to explore the possibility that, through investment in a new plant, conditions can be established to expand the decree. "We are waiting for the government's response," Vallejo added.
The growing presence of BYD and other Chinese companies in the EV market in Mexico has generated suspicion in the United States. Under U.S. pressure, Mexican authorities this year curbed incentives for U.S. cars, such as low-cost public land and lower taxes.
"The term of the decree that exempts imported electric vehicles from tariffs, enacted in September 2020, ended on Monday, September 30, one day before Mexican President Claudia Sheinbaum took office, replacing Andrés Manuel López Obrador.
"We are waiting for the new administration to pronounce on the decree on October 1, and based on that we will be able to manage more directly the conditions for an investment announcement and the benefits that would be granted," Vallejo told the newspaper.
