An El Pais article in November, 2023, brought focus to Mexico and its role as an indicator in potential shifts in the North American automotive sales and manufacturing economy. Behind only Russia, Mexico represents the second leading importer of Chinese cars, with consumers buying 260,000 Chinese-made vehicles over the past year.
In September alone, these sales increased by six percent, accounting for nearly 20 percent of overall sales. Demand was so substantial that Michoacan port authorities lacked the equipment to expeditiously remove a substantial number of vehicles shipped, resulting in a shipping traffic jam. At the same time, Mexico is a country that exports large numbers of vehicles to the US. This has alarmed US legislators, who recently complained in a letter to the US Trade Representative that they feel China may have strategic aims of flooding the US with state-subsidized electric vehicles. In recent months, the EU and US have both ramped up a long-simmering trade war focused on Chinese vehicles and semiconductors. A major part of this involves seeking strategic alternatives to China for production-line and supply-chain sourcing. Mexico has no such geopolitical dilemma, and the automotive sector has replaced oil as its major export growth driver, contributing 4.8 percent to GDP. Some 22 percent of foreign direct investment is now directed toward that industry, with Chinese companies such as JAC Motors, Chery Automobile, and Geely establishing a substantial assembly plant presence in Mexico.
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AuthorJorge Dominguez - Doctor of Political Science. Archives
November 2021
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