Four months after announcing it was canceling plans to build a manufacturing plant in Mexico, Chinese electric vehicle and battery manufacturer Build Your Dreams (BYD) is said to be reconsidering its decision.
BYD corporate vice president Julián Villarroel told reporters in Guadalajara Wednesday at Expo Transporte ANPACT 2025 — a major trade show for the automotive transport industry in the Americas — that the company’s renewed interest is based on its status as the only electric vehicle (EV) manufacturer that produces its own lithium batteries.
“We are the world’s largest manufacturer of lithium batteries,” Villarroel said. “This integration, since the battery represents a significant part of the vehicle’s cost, allows us to offer competitive prices.”
Villarroel said that as part of its decision-making process the company is lobbying Mexican lawmakers to exempt electric vehicles from a 50% tariff on imports from countries with which Mexico has no trade agreements.
“We’re arguing that electric vehicles shouldn’t be included in the tariff package … because of their impact on pollution,” he said, declining to offer any details about the negotiations.
While describing the proposal to impose tariffs as “understandable,” Villarroel insisted “you ought not to tax electric mobility.”
In August 2024, the newspaper El Economista reported that BYD was considering three locations in Mexico for an electric car plant, citing tax advantages, management support and preferential prices.
Earlier this year, the lack of clarity in U.S. tariff plans for the automotive sector, as well as geopolitical tensions, forced the company to rethink its investment strategy.
Now BYD insists that “it is “here to stay,” describing Mexico and Brazil as “key markets for our expansion in the EV sector in Latin America.”
The company is expected to issue an official statement by the end of the year, Villarroel said, adding that “Our intention is to stay in Mexico, to broaden our presence in Latin America.”
The news of BYD’s revived interest in establishing a manufacturing plant in Mexico has sparked rumors that it might be among those companies interested in acquiring the Nissan plant in Cuernavaca, slated for closure in March.
Nissan announces plans to close its historic Cuernavaca plant, moving production to Aguascalientes
BYD’s only North American plant is located in Lancaster, California, which produces buses. Presently, its plant in Camaçari, Brazil, serves the Latin American market.
El Economista said that in addition to BYD, Chinese rivals Changan and MG have confirmed their interest in setting up operations in Mexico. None of the three have made mention of the Nissan facilities just 90 minutes south of Mexico City in the state of Morelos.
Villarroel was at the trade show in Guadalajara to attend the launch of the company’s new cargo vans, also known as last-mile delivery units.
He said that 700 BYD trucks are already operating in Mexico and the company expects to close out the year with 1,200 units sold, while next year’s target is 5,000 units.
With reports from El Economista and La Jornada
Editor’s note: A previous version of this article referred to MG as a British brand. While the brand originates in Britain, it is now owned by the Chinese company SAIC and headquartered in Shanghai.
