BMW AG will invest US$872 million in its plant in San Luis Potosí, in the Bajío region of Mexico to manufacture electric vehicles. More than half of the investment will be used to build a new high-voltage battery assembly plant on site. The expansion will create nearly 1,000 new jobs, and electric vehicle production is scheduled to begin in 2027. The Mexican plant will produce electric vehicles based on a new platform that focuses the company’s efforts to compete with Tesla Inc. BMW aims to cut cell costs in half and increase the charging range and speed by 30% compared to current models. BMW expects the first Neue Klasse models to be produced by the end of 2025 at the automaker’s factory in Debrecen, Hungary. Here, BMW recently doubled its investment to €2 billion. (Source: Bloomberg).
How many electric car assembly plants are there in Mexico?
Currently there are eight electric vehicle assembly plants in Mexico. They promote the future of mobility at a national and international level, according to information from the National Auto Parts Industry (INA). At the national level, the brands producing electric cars are General Motors in Coahuila and San Luis Potosí; Questum in Nuevo León; Ford, Stellantis (in 2024), and Moldex in the State of Mexico; WTech in Jalisco (mid-2023); and Zacua in Puebla. It is expected that in the coming years new players will join the competition, and an important technological change will occur in Mexico and worldwide. Based on information from INA, it is estimated that in 2029, 3,812,623 electric units will be produced in the North American region. Likewise, according to figures from the National Institute of Statistics and Geography (INEGI), during October 2022, 4,465 hybrid and electric vehicles were sold in Mexico, a growth of 27.6% over October 2021 levels. (Source: Mexico Industry).
Car sales increased 20.1% year over year in January: Inegi
By Dinorah Becerril
In January, sales of light vehicles in the domestic market reached 94,414 units, a 20.1% increase year over year. This was reported by INEGI through the Administrative Registry of the Automotive Industry of Light Vehicles (RAIAVL). According to the registry, in January 2023 15,829 more light vehicles were sold than in January 2022 (78,585). This figure is 15.6% higher than in January 2021, when 81,657 units were sold.
However, these light vehicle sales figures are still below the levels registered in 2020 and 2019, with 104,852 and 111,514 units, respectively. According to the Mexican Association of Automotive Distributors (AMDA), in January 2023 Nissan led buyers’ preferences, closely followed by General Motors and Grupo Volkswagen with 11% and 10.9%, respectively. Behind them were Toyota (8.9%), KIA (7.9%), Mazda (7%), and Stellantis (5.9%), among others.
