The Mexican government plans to increase domestic content by 15% through automotive import substitution.
This objective is to be achieved through the substitution of imports of electronic components for vehicles, the expansion of aluminum auto parts production and the development of battery cell production for electric vehicles.
Automotive import substitution
From January to October 2024, Mexico imported auto parts for a customs value of 58.428 billion dollars, according to data from the National Auto Parts Industry (INA).
These were the main sources of origin of those imports:
- United States: 52.3 percent.
- China: 14 percent.
- Japan: 6.2 percent.
- Others: 27.4 percent.
Conversely, during those same 10 months, Mexico’s auto parts exports totaled 90.9 billion dollars.
As a result, Mexico recorded a surplus of 32.472 billion dollars in automotive parts trade.
Mexico Plan
Mexico’s automotive sector is highly competitive on a global scale. For the country, it represents its best integrated and most modern industry. At the same time, Mexico has developed a high-quality auto parts production base. But the country also depends on imports to produce motor vehicles.
Some context: with the arrival of President Donald Trump as President of the United States for the second time, as of January 20, Mexico faces the challenge of avoiding the imposition of tariffs on U.S. imports of products.
Trump has announced a plan to impose a 25% tariff on purchases of Mexican products if US demands regarding immigration and the fight against drug trafficking are not met.
For her part, Mexican President Claudia Sheinbaum presented Plan Mexico on Monday, with which she seeks to attract investments for 277 billion dollars, while positioning the country among the 10 largest economies in the world.