The Chinese authorities are delaying their approval to the new plant that the largest world manufacturer of electric vehicles, Byd, wants to build in Mexico for fear that the technology developed by the company ends up in American hands, reports today the British newspaper Financial Times (FT).
According to anonymous sources cited by that newspaper, the Chinese Ministry of Commerce considers that Mexico would have access without restrictions on the advanced systems and techniques of Byd, and that the “proximity” of the country with the United States could translate into that this country also did with those technologies.
Byd announced in 2023 his plans to build a factory in Mexico where he would produce about 150,000 vehicles a year and generate 10,000 jobs. The company’s roadmap, based in Shenzhen (southeast), went through manufacturing cars also in Indonesia, Brazil and Hungary.
However, Chinese automakers need trade authorization to manufacture abroad, and Beijing is giving preference to countries that are part of their international infrastructure development initiative known as new silk routes.
Likewise, according to the information, Donald Trump’s return to the White House has caused Mexico to lose part of his enthusiasm for the Byd project, now giving more priority to sustain his relations with the northern neighbor in the northern neighbor in the threat of tariffs on cross -border trade.
After Trump’s team accused Mexico of being a “back door” for Chinese products to enter the United States without paying the corresponding taxes, the Mexican government has announced tariffs against textiles from the Asian country and investigations for alleged unfair competition to Chinese steel and aluminum.
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Mexico, “hostile with Chinese companies”
“The new Mexican government has adopted a hostile attitude against Chinese companies, making the situation even more difficult for Byd,” explains one of the sources cited by Financial Times.
For Gregor Sebastian, analyst of the Rhodium consultant, “the Mexican government obviously wish to achieve some Chinese investments, but its commercial relationship with the United States is much more important.”
In a recent interview with FT, the Executive Vice President of Byd, Stella Li, said that her company “has not yet decided” what will happen to the plan to open a factory in Mexico: “Every day there are different news (…).
However, in February 2024, Li had advanced that Byd would choose the location of the factory before the end of the year.
In 2024, the electric manufacturer sold more than 40,000 vehicles in Mexico, and revealed that its objective for this year is to fold its sales volume and open 30 new dealers in the country.
With EFE information.
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