What China’s BYD really wants from EV investments in Mexico

The world’s largest electric vehicle manufacturer (EV) is moving forward with plans to start production drive in Mexico. Even after the elected US President Donald Trump threatened steep tariffs In the country, Byd still rushes to build a factory despite the trade friction with the United States, Biggest consumer vehicles produced in Mexico.

Although trade barriers are likely to restrain ByD’s access to the US market – at least in the short term – the presence of a company in Mexico is not in connection with the United States. Reflects the wider ambition to use EV for the installation of a company in the critical infrastructure of Mexico.

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The investors wanted

Without a safe export market in the United States, byd’s ambitions in Mexico could dispute the underdeveloped EV infrastructure in the country. Byd plans to expand the sale of car sixfold in the country – but with less 3,000 Public filling cells, Mexico should invest $ 1.73 billion annually in his charging infrastructure over the next six years to keep up with demand.

Chinese companies, with their experience of building renewable energy infrastructure, fill this gap – and take advantage of the expansion into the critical infrastructure of Mexico. Byd i Partner companies They quickly deploy chargers to support Chinese ownership of EV in Mexico. VEMO, a Mexican company Cleantech, is actively cooperating with the company double The number of chargers compatible with BYD in Mexico at 1000 2025.

Furthermore, the Mexican network is already facing an energy deficit and will struggle to keep up with the increasing demand of energy from EVS. IN November 2020Chinese State Energy Investment Corporation (SPIC) acquired a Mexican Renewable Energy Company, Energia-Sada Zuda The second largest private producer of renewable energy sources in Mexico-Koji is involved in this Fast -filled facilitiesstorage and solar panels. Since September 2024. Spic has reported on investments more than Billion dollars In Mexico and expressed the intention of continuing the spread in the country.

An opportunity for Mexico

Mexico has a lot to get from the insurance of part of the EV market. New production plants could create highly paid jobs, expand one of the main export industries in Mexico and attract new investments. Jorge Vallejo, Director General by Byd -au Mexico, specified That the new EV drive will create about 10,000 new jobs in Mexico.

Currently, EVs remain beyond the reach of many consumers. In Mexico the cheapest Tesla model costs a ban on $ 40,000. However, the localization of production could reduce prices by reducing transport costs and bypassing the tariffs.

Other car manufacturers in Mexico are already struggling to compete with ByD. The song model, byd’s $ 30,000 Plug-in sports utility vehicle, distorts rivals. Local factory threatens to even reduce prices lower.

EV are just the first step

Byd is a risky business partner because of his ability to quickly integrate into the country’s energy system, quickly replacing competitors not only in the EV market, but also in the larger Cleantech industry.

Bed -O’s goal in Mexico is not just to sell electric vehicles. Similarly, as the company did in Brazil, first EV -Oovi came – then byd provides production logistics software, charging, storage and generation systems for EV ecosystem.

Byd is not just an auto company, but is also a software company, with its own chips subsidiary and the artificial intelligence program (AI). The company produces batteries, trucks,, Skyrails,, Energy storage systems,, Digital logistics softwarecommunication equipment and 5g and AI technology. Byd uses this expertise to vertically integrate into the country’s energy system, allowing it to dominate large parts of the green economy.

In Brazil, where Chinese brands have a 9 percent of the share sells new cars, byd material Electric buses,, manages solar farms,, trains suppliesPartners with miners lithiumand products Consumer EV -ovi. For ByD, EV production is a beach for obtaining access to a wider energy infrastructure, creating addiction to Chinese technology and investment to support what Chinese companies in the industry help.

In Mexico, a Chinese trace in the energy system grows. Only 2023, Chinese companies announced $ 12.6 billion In infrastructure projects in Mexico, focusing on EVS, mining, transit, container ports and telecommunications. Chinese miner Ganfeng was also included in perennial dispute with Mexico over the rights of a minute of lithium in the Sonora desert.

Party service

Byd’s increase in Mexico comes at a time when Chinese companies are under the control of unjust trade practices, mixing chain of supply and security problems, which prompted Several Mexican states to refund the incentives for taxes and resources for byd.

But that means little for a company that is basically in the service of the Chinese Communist Party (CCP). China from the end of the 1980s Exit politics He encouraged investing abroad to get domestic scarce strategic resources. Acting as a key player in economic efforts of CCP, ByD achieves unfair advantages in the increasingly competitive global car market. High subsidies,, Strong support to domestic politicsand access to military intelligence that could keep transnational business decisions give byd a competitive advantage necessary to make it one of best -selling Car manufacturers in the world.

Byd -O’s ties with the CCP running deep: he supported China military-civil fusion Strategy, integrating defense and civilian research to enhance national goals. In 2019, the company received a prestigious national award for contribution to military technology and developed at least three Military-Civil Fusion Enterprise Zone focused on research and development in the defense industry, as directed by the army.

Bed’s leadership maintains an extensive interpersonal network – and even the agile door – with the leadership of the CCP. Founder byd Wang Chuanfu He held numerous CCP posts, including delegates at the Shenzhen National Congress from 2000-2010.

Perhaps byd is also one of the most commonly subsidized companies in China. 2022. Byd received $ 2.1 billion In direct subsidies of the Chinese government, Significantly larger than other domestic manufacturers. These subsidies help Byd’s efforts to spread, especially since the chinese influence countries impose tariffs on Chinese EV.

Byd did not make the world’s largest producer EV. The CCP invited Bed to “go out” and conquer foreign markets, and supported the efforts of the company through military cooperation, funding and difficult subsidies. This intense cooperation made it difficult to distinguish between the BYD corporate strategies from government orders.

A higher prize in question

With its vertically integrated approach – from electric vehicles to the renewable energy infrastructure – not only does it record the market share, but also provides a permanent impact on systems that drive Mexico’s pure energy transition – in the geostrategic benefit of Beijing.

The Chinese expansion of EV -U Mexico, led by ByD, is more than an answer to growing local demand for affordable electric vehicles. It is part of a wider strategy of installation of Chinese influence in the broader energy and infrastructure systems of Mexico – and signals a much deeper geopolitical game.

The demand of Mexico for EVS is growing rapidly -and the potential byd to dominate the market is indisputable. Fast vertical integration of Chinese companies in the sectors needed to support EV’s adoption can leave Mexico all china addicts for critical energy and industrial systems.

As Mexico wants to use EV boom, policy creators must weigh long -term compromise of Chinese partnerships. While byd promises direct economic benefits, the country risks controls the strategic means and relies excessively on Chinese technology and investment.

In order for Mexico to achieve sustainable, independent growth in Cleantech, he must balance the foreign cooperation with efforts to strengthen his own domestic capacity and regulatory control.

Haley Nelson is the Assistant Director in the Atlantic Council Global Energy Center.

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Picture: byd automatic production plant in Thailand. (Imod Officer, Wikimedia Commons) https://Commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/file:byd_auto_mo Žalland) _co. , _ltd._manufacturing_plant