4 months after asserting it was canceling plans to construct a producing plant in Mexico, Chinese language electrical car and battery producer Construct Your Goals (BYD) is claimed to be reconsidering its choice.
BYD company vice chairman Julián Villarroel informed reporters in Guadalajara Wednesday at Expo Transporte ANPACT 2025 — a serious commerce present for the automotive transport trade within the Americas — that the corporate’s renewed curiosity relies on its standing as the one electrical car (EV) producer that produces its personal lithium batteries.
“We’re the world’s largest producer of lithium batteries,” Villarroel mentioned. “This integration, for the reason that battery represents a major a part of the car’s value, permits us to supply aggressive costs.”
Villarroel mentioned that as a part of its decision-making course of the corporate is lobbying Mexican lawmakers to exempt electrical automobiles from a 50% tariff on imports from international locations with which Mexico has no commerce agreements.
“We’re arguing that electrical automobiles shouldn’t be included within the tariff package deal … due to their affect on air pollution,” he mentioned, declining to supply any particulars in regards to the negotiations.
Whereas describing the proposal to impose tariffs as “comprehensible,” Villarroel insisted “you ought to not tax electrical mobility.”
In August 2024, the newspaper El Economista reported that BYD was contemplating three places in Mexico for an electrical automobile plant, citing tax benefits, administration help and preferential costs.
Earlier this 12 months, the dearth of readability in U.S. tariff plans for the automotive sector, in addition to geopolitical tensions, compelled the corporate to rethink its funding technique.
Now BYD insists that “it’s “right here to remain,” describing Mexico and Brazil as “key markets for our enlargement within the EV sector in Latin America.”
The corporate is anticipated to concern an official assertion by the top of the 12 months, Villarroel mentioned, including that “Our intention is to remain in Mexico, to broaden our presence in Latin America.”
The information of BYD’s revived curiosity in establishing a producing plant in Mexico has sparked rumors that it could be amongst these firms curious about buying the Nissan plant in Cuernavaca, slated for closure in March.
BYD’s solely North American plant is positioned in Lancaster, California, which produces buses. Presently, its plant in Camaçari, Brazil, serves the Latin American market.
El Economista mentioned that along with BYD, Chinese language rivals Changan and Britain’s MG have confirmed their curiosity in organising operations in Mexico. Not one of the three have made point out of the Nissan amenities simply 90 minutes south of Mexico Metropolis within the state of Morelos.
Villarroel was on the commerce present in Guadalajara to attend the launch of the corporate’s new cargo vans, also referred to as last-mile supply items.
He mentioned that 700 BYD vans are already working in Mexico and the corporate expects to shut out the 12 months with 1,200 items offered, whereas subsequent 12 months’s goal is 5,000 items.
With experiences from El Economista and La Jornada
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