To protect the investment and jobs generated by the automotive industry installed in Mexico, the Mexican government should establish import quotas for vehicles of Chinese origin in Mexico, said the former director of the National Auto Parts Industry (INA, business chamber) Alberto Bustamante.
"The industry has to lobby the Federal Government to regulate the importation of Chinese vehicles, putting a cap on it to protect the national industry," Bustamante said in an interview with the newspaper El Economista.
Bustamante said that in recent years, companies established in Mexico have increased their investments, generating more jobs and boosting the economy with the multiplier of the economy for its activity. However, he warned, Chinese companies come to Mexico with the strategy of only selling cars, without creating supply chains.
According to Bustamante, 66 percent of the sales volume of new vehicles in Mexico are imported and the market share of Chinese vehicles is 19 percent, a share held with gasoline and electric vehicles.
The leading Chinese brands in Mexico, Bustamante said are JAC Motors, BYD and Chirey (Cherey Automobile).
Data from the Mexican Association of Automotive Distributors (AMDA), reviewed by SteelOrbis, show that Chirey increased its sales volume by 1,875 percent in the January-August period and went from having a market share of 0.2 percent in the first eight months of last year to 3.1 percent and became the eleventh largest brand in Mexico. Only in August, the brand increased its sales volume by 336 percent.
MG Motors (SAIC Motor), which began marketing in Mexico in 2020, already ranks as the eighth largest seller with a 4.1 percent market share, surpassing Ford Motor Company, which has production plants in Mexico.
AMDA data also shows that in 2022 in Mexico 2.87 million new vehicles were sold and the historical record was in 2018 with 3.45 million units.