The Mexican government has revealed a plan to hike import tariffs on countries it does not have a free-trade agreement with. These hikes, which could be as high as 50%, would directly impact sectors from textiles to steel, as well as automobiles from China and other Asian countries. If approved, the proposal will come into effect 30 days after enactment and last until the end of 2026, reports CNN.
Marcelo Ebrard Casaubón, head of the Ministry of Economy, has said the move is aimed at protecting Mexico’s strategic industries. Analysts suggest it is also a response to pressure from the US for Mexico to prioritise its northern neighbour. In July, this pressure contributed to the cancellation of a proposed Mexican factory for BYD, China’s electric vehicle giant.
With USD 52 billion in imports potentially affected, this decision could reshape Mexico’s role in global trade – and the transition to electric vehicles.
To unpack what this means for the industry and consumers, we sat down with Eugenio Grandío, the founder of the Mexican Electric Mobility Association (EMA) and a former business strategist for Tesla’s Latin American interests.
Grandío is now one of Mexico’s leading advocates for electrification. The EMA works to unite electric vehicle (EV) makers and battery-charging companies in pushing for the development of the sector, and to champion the growing demand for EVs among Mexican consumers: in the first half of 2025 alone, EV and plug-in hybrid sales in Mexico jumped by 40%, reaching 43,656 units and pushing the national stock past 150,000. It is a sign of how quickly adoption is accelerating – and Chinese automakers are successfully capturing a growing share.
Dialogue Earth: How does President Sheinbaum’s tariff announcement affect electromobility in Mexico?
Eugenio Grandío: The automotive industry is undergoing a rapid transition toward electric vehicles, led by countries that have been developing these technologies for 10 or 15 years. Tariffs like these risk slowing down EV adoption. Around the world, governments have promoted EV uptake through incentives. Mexico has introduced some, but we’ve moved very slowly compared to others. Now, with these new measures, the shift will slow even further – just as we were beginning to see lower-priced EVs enter the market.
These cars are an attractive option for Mexicans, not only because they are more affordable, but also because charging an EV can save up to 70% compared to filling up a gasoline car. But many of the companies investing in these technologies will be forced to raise their prices to compensate.
How do you perceive the electromobility landscape in Mexico? The government has put in place some incentives, including discounts on highway tolls in Mexico City and the State of Mexico, exemption from the federal new car tax, and income tax deductions for the depreciation of EVs. Are these enough?
What I see is that in Mexico there’s a lot of talk about electromobility. There are thousands of plans and ideas but everything is very fragmented: everyone is pulling in their own direction. The government has said it wants to promote electromobility but the reality is it has many priorities. It loves the plans, but the regulations and incentives that exist are not enough.
Unlike other countries, where demand has been inflated with subsidies, in Mexico people who buy an electric car do so because they really want one
Paradoxically, that also has a positive side: unlike other countries, where demand has been inflated with subsidies, in Mexico people who buy an electric car do so because they really want one. That reassures me. Here, the demand is real, not forced.
The government has said its EV support will focus on public transport. What’s your view?
The idea sounds great, because we should all use public transportation. But if you look at the numbers, in Mexico there are about 800,000 buses versus 40 million vehicles. If you electrify all the buses, you’ll improve comfort and there will be fewer emissions in public transportation, but you won’t solve the underlying environmental problems.
That’s why I say: if the government is going to invest in public transportation, great. But they should at least put in place regulations that facilitate the adoption of private electric cars.
What about the role of the automotive industry in Mexico?
The automotive industry has enormous power. It represents more than 4% of GDP plus thousands of jobs. Traditional brands have held back electrification with the argument that Mexico “isn’t ready”, that electricity is too dirty, that there’s no infrastructure, et cetera. But that’s false. The Japanese brands will tell you it’s not possible and none offer electric cars here. Yet the Chinese do bring them, into the same country, with the same electricity and the same infrastructure, and also at competitive prices.
What’s happening with Mexican regulations on fuel efficiency and CO2 emissions? Is the country’s standard for light-duty vehicles, NOM-163, also helping to promote EVs?
Mexico has the 163 efficiency standard, but it’s so lax that selling a few electric cars is enough to comply with it. An example: the best-selling electric car in Mexico, according to the government, is the Nissan Kicks e-Power. But it’s not electric: it has four cylinders and uses gasoline to run. Even so, they classify it as electric and it receives incentives. That’s absurd.
Editor’s note: The Nissan Kicks e-Power has a “range-extender hybrid” system that uses electricity to boost the output of its engine, which requires petrol to run and thus still emits greenhouse gas emissions.
In Mexico, as long as these rules are so lax, brands won’t bring their best technology. They’ll continue saying ‘we’re not ready’ and bringing in disguised hybrids
From a public policy perspective, what measures would be most effective?
For me, the most important fight is for the efficiency standard. Today, brands are allowed to sell eight-cylinder pickup trucks and compensate with a few electric ones, because each electric car is equivalent to “credits” that discount emissions under the regulations. That’s how Tesla grew: not only because people wanted its cars, but because other brands had to buy credits from them.
In Mexico, as long as these rules are so lax, brands won’t bring their best technology. They’ll continue saying “we’re not ready” and bringing in disguised hybrids, because they’re also given more credits here than in other countries. That’s giving away the market.
What role can society and civil organisations play in this change?
A fundamental one. Today, the agenda faces opposition by traditional brands. They have the money, the contacts and the media exposure. And few dare to contradict them. We need more voices that question, that show with data that air quality and public health are at stake.
In other countries, citizen pressure has been key. In Mexico, we lack that associative culture. Here, everything comes down to the individual decision to buy a car. And every electric car that enters the market means fewer years of pollution in cities.
What would you say is the most urgent thing in the energy transition towards cleaner transportation?
Let’s not settle for lesser technologies like hybrids. Let’s demand the best technology available, not what they want to sell us. Because if not, Mexico will remain a technological dump: they send us what isn’t sold elsewhere.
And also, let’s stop believing the myth that an electric car pollutes more than a gasoline car in Mexico. We need to communicate the facts. This is spread by those interested in slowing down change. If we don’t apply pressure now, brands will continue to comfortably sell the old stuff and claim it’s the best for us.
