Mexico's own EVs could rival India and China, face Trump trade rules

“We are going to generate supply chains so that everything that is in the electric car is manufactured in the country and we import as little as possible,” Sheinbaum told Bloomberg and other media outlets in a briefing.

BYD Dolphin EV – Euro spec

Sheinbaum didn’t name specific companies that would be involved in the project, the report noted, but said there were already several in Mexico manufacturing components such as electric motors, and that “the idea is to bring them together with Mexican researchers so that they can assemble this electric vehicle.”

The all-Mexican EV would likely compete with Indian imports, which are being used as taxis in parts of southern Mexico, as well as low-cost Chinese imports from automakers like BYD, which is looking to increase sales in Mexico even as top officials pledge to curtail Asian imports, Bloomberg noted.

Right now, Mexico builds hundreds of thousands of U.S.-bound vehicles annually, but it buys few of them— especially EVs. GM invested big in its Mexico plant as a hub for EV assembly, and BMW is expanding its Mexico plant to manufacture EVs starting in 2027. Meanwhile Tesla was considering Mexico but now appears to have snubbed it.

BMW Group Plant San Luis Potosí in Mexico

It’s unclear if a small EV designed to compete against the cheapest Indian and Chinese models would be a viable product in the U.S., but if it were sold here it could face incredibly steep tariffs depending on the outcome of the 2024 U.S. presidential election.

Donald Trump has promised a 100% tariff on Mexico-built vehicles sent to the U.S.—EVs or not. Trump’s policy also hints at dissolving what was once known as NAFTA. Are Mexico’s moves preemptive? While Mexico’s new president hasn’t called that out specifically, it’s hard to imagine not.