“I appreciate the visit of Rohan Patel, director of Tesla Business Development, as well as Eugenio Grandio, director of Market in Mexico.
There will be more good news soon ”, Foreign Minister Marcelo Ebrard assured on February 14, on his Twitter account.
The message, brimming with optimism, has taken less than 15 days to be fulfilled.
Elon Musk, once again the richest man in the world, has chosen Mexico to build an electric car plant, sources close to the negotiation confirmed to EL PAÍS this Monday.
Musk's landing in Mexico, although his location and amount of disbursement are yet to be revealed, represents a safe bet for leaders and specialists in the sector to turn the country into an assembly hub in Latin America for this
type
of
of technology.
Mexico has already taken certain steps along this path.
Plants such as Audi or BMW currently have production lines for electric cars.
However, industry experts warn that the arrival of this mega factory on Mexican soil would be a catalyst to trigger the production of this type of car.
With more than 45,000 units of hybrid and electric vehicles sold in 2022, Mexico is the leader in the sale of this type of car in Latin America, even above Brazil, with 35,000, and Colombia, with 17,700.
"Right now production is low, the market is incipient, we are producing mainly for the United States and if this plant [Tesla] comes to be, it will be very important for the country," says José Zozaya, executive president of the Mexican Association of Automotive Industry (AMIA).
The country is the seventh producer of vehicles -above Brazil and Spain- and is the fifth exporter in the world, according to AMIA figures.
Mexico has an installed production capacity of more than five million vehicles per year and, until 2021, more than 90% of the light vehicles produced in Mexico were for export, with the United States being the main destination.
Currently, the Mexican ecosystem has a network of 22 automobile plants and a dozen factories specialized in the manufacture of motors and transmissions for vehicles.
"The arrival of Tesla would be a confirmation of the great value of Mexican skilled labor, that Mexico is a country where you can invest in a safe and stable way and that the conditions offered will be respected," adds Zozaya. .
A worker at the BMW factory in San Luis Potosí, Mexico, in April 2021. Mauricio Palos (Bloomberg)
Although industry experts agree on Mexico's positive factors in attracting this type of investment, such as its proximity to the United States, low skilled labor costs, and adequate infrastructure, political controversy was one of the main obstacles it faced. to free this project to land.
Although at first the State of Nuevo León emerged as the favorite to house the factory, the game about the location of this plant began to open up when President López Obrador entered the game and expressed his predilection for a more central location and close to the newly opened Felipe Ángeles International Airport (AIFA).
With these cards on the board, States such as Hidalgo or the State of Mexico raised their hands and with this came a barrage of new bidders, from Jalisco to Chihuahua,
The adoption of electric vehicles has become a fundamental piece in an environment that is turning more and more quickly to the green transition.
As a business and a trend, Tesla's goal for 2030 is to increase its production by 20 million electric vehicles, which requires the installation of some eight mega-plants, a strategic plan in which Mexico will already play an important role, although the results are still unknown for now. fine points of the agreement.
Israel Hurtado, an expert in electromobility, says that regardless of whether the location of this plant is specified, the confirmation
per se
of Tesla's arrival in Mexico confirms the automotive vocation that has been consolidated in the country for years.
"There are already some companies or factories in Mexico that produce parts, such as brakes, for Tesla, and also many of the companies that are part of the ecosystem are thinking of migrating part of their production to electric vehicles."
Hurtado, also president of the Mexican Hydrogen Association, concludes that Mexico should propose a battery of incentives to promote the sale of electric cars in the domestic market.
Among the tax benefits that the specialist suggests are the immediate deduction of 100% on the purchase of electric vehicles, plug-in hybrids and internal combustion hybrids for individuals and legal entities or a deductibility of interest for purchasing this type of unit.
In addition, he concludes, a reduction in toll fees has been recommended for vehicles that have "green plates" or free parking on public roads for this type of car.
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