So far, more than 120 countries (representing around 85% of the world’s road vehicle fleet, not including two- and three-wheelers) have made pledges to achieve net-zero emissions in the coming decades. In addition, more than 20 countries have announced the total elimination of internal combustion engine car sales in the next 30 years, including emerging economies such as Cape Verde, Costa Rica and Sri Lanka.
This will imply an escalation in the global production of electric vehicles.
Mexico is the seventh largest automobile producer in the world. According to Inegi data, between January and September 2,511,482 light vehicles have been assembled, of which only 5% are electric. A percentage still far from the goal set by López Obrador in June, which seeks that 50% of the vehicles assembled in Mexico by 2030 be zero emissions.
The Sound Plan
The president of Mexico said on Monday that the need for incentives to integrate the chain was one of the topics that were touched on in the meeting he held on Friday with the White House’s special envoy for Climate, John Kerry.
The United States is the main destination for Mexican-made vehicles and López Obrador said that it is necessary to reconvert the industry to respond to the United States’ approach of no longer allowing vehicles that move only with fossil fuels.
“(In that market) they are giving all preference to electric vehicles. So we want the plants for the creation of these automotive and auto parts industries to be in Sonora and this model, already in the future, is going to be reproduced in other northern states. That was what we talked about with Mr. Kerry, ”López Obrador said in his morning conference.
In the meeting with Kerry, in which representatives of the American automobile giants General Motors, Ford and Tesla were also present, in addition to directors of companies in the energy sector, the possibility was also discussed that “the lithium in Sonora could be used for making batteries. Sonora also has other minerals that are very important for the production of batteries… There was also talk of chips,” said the president.
The so-called Sonora Plan also considers building up to five solar plants operated by the CFE around the main industrial parks located in the entity.
The electrical footprint in Mexico
Ford started the assembly Mustang Mach-E at the end of 2020, and until September of this year, it has assembled 119,788 units, according to Inegi data.
Added to this production focused on export are the 1,246 units of the Jac brand assembled by the Mexican company Giant Motors Latin America for local consumption.
But the break in global value chains and the stricter regional content rules contained in the T-MEC are driving the relocation of vehicle and auto parts production in North America, a phenomenon known as “nearshoring”.
In April 2021, General Motors announced that from 2023 it will start with the assembly of a fully electric version of its Blazer SUV in Ramos Arizpe, Coahuila. This year, in September, the American manufacturer reported that it will also manufacture an electric version of the Chevrolet Equinox SUV at its Mexican plant.
Audi announced in July of this year that by 2027 it will begin production of the electric version of Q5 at the plant in San José Chiapa, Puebla; while volkswagen it said last week that it would invest $763 million to produce electric vehicles at its Puebla factory before the end of the decade.
The general director of Economic Impulse of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, explained that there are more investment projects at the door. “We are working with several assemblers from different countries to be able to bring them to Mexico,” Jiménez said. “We still cannot reveal (the names) because we have confidentiality contracts.”
The official announced that in the coming months a project will be announced to attract new capital focused on the assembly of electric cars, which will include incentives for assemblers.