{"id":60141044,"date":"2026-07-09T17:36:42","date_gmt":"2026-07-09T16:36:42","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/dialogue.earth\/?post_type=opinion&p=60141044"},"modified":"2026-07-09T17:36:46","modified_gmt":"2026-07-09T16:36:46","slug":"mexico-has-an-opportunity-to-become-latin-americas-ev-leader","status":"publish","type":"opinion","link":"https:\/\/dialogue.earth\/en\/energy\/mexico-has-an-opportunity-to-become-latin-americas-ev-leader\/","title":{"rendered":"Mexico has an opportunity to become Latin America\u2019s EV leader"},"content":{"rendered":"\n

Mexico has proven it can create technology, President Claudia Sheinbaum proclaimed at the press preview of the first electric car to be mass produced in the country. The Olinia was unveiled in June, alongside the country\u2019s first domestically made electric bus. From next year, Mexicans will be able to buy the fully electric, six-seater Olinia for the competitive price of MXN 150,000 (USD 8,600).<\/p>\n\n\n\n

I had the opportunity to engage in the early development of the Olinia project, in 2025. At the time, a two-year timeline for developing and launching an affordable electric vehicle (EV) seemed extraordinarily ambitious. Yet witnessing it first-hand made it clear to me that Mexico was pursuing something larger than a new vehicle: this was a new approach to industrial policy, built on speed, innovation and collaboration.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Our research at the Global South Center for Clean Transportation shows<\/a> that the share of EVs produced in the Global South, excluding China, has tripled since 2020. Sales are growing fast too, increasing by 78% year-on-year in 2025 in Colombia, Mexico, Chile and Brazil.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

This means governments are increasingly seeing the EV transition not only as a climate objective, but as a competition for investment, technological leadership and industrial competitiveness. And Mexico has entered that race.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Why does this matter to Mexico? Mexico\u2019s automotive sector \u2013 built almost entirely around export demand, with more than 70% of light-duty vehicles exported<\/a> to the United States \u2013 is structurally exposed to the volatility of US trade policy and tariffs.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Mexico has a rare opportunity: revitalise industrial strategy using EV demand, attract investment along the full value chain, and emerge as Latin America\u2019s leading EV manufacturer.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The Olinia project<\/h2>\n\n\n\n

The Olinia project<\/a> is unusual in that its funding and objectives came from the state rather than the private sector. When it was conceived in late 2024, its primary objective was not to build an affordable EV for urban mobility. The project\u2019s aim was to strengthen research and development capabilities within Mexican universities and public institutions.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

By 2025, under the leadership of the engineer Roberto Capuano, Olinia had evolved. The project became an opportunity for Mexico to leverage its automotive expertise and local talent to develop vehicles for its own market.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Mexico\u2019s ambition<\/a> is for 50% of vehicles sold domestically by 2030 to be zero-emission. This figure was only 7% in 2025 but there is a large estimated market for small or compact EVs in the country. This is being driven by urban passengers using ride-hailing services and taxis, as well as the light commercial<\/a> vehicles sector.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\"Olinia<\/div>
The six-seater Olinia electric vehicle, spearheaded by Mexico\u2019s current administration under President Sheinbaum (Image:Alejandra Cu\u00e9llar)<\/div><\/div><\/div><\/div>\n\n\n\n

By targeting these ride-hailing and light commercial vehicle applications, Olinia is aiming to deliver an affordable EV product for fleets where the economics are most competitive \u2013 the lowest hanging fruit in the transition to electric mobility.\u00a0<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Policy levers<\/h2>\n\n\n\n

Mexico\u2019s most important next step is to create a <\/a>predictable and growing consumer market<\/a> for zero-emission vehicles.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Strengthening and effectively implementing Mexico\u2019s fuel efficiency regulation, NOM-163, could help here. NOM-163 sets a minimum requirement for the distance a vehicle must be able to travel on a specific amount of fuel. These standards can promote EV adoption by making compliance costly for traditional internal combustion engines, thereby incentivising automakers to shift investment towards zero-emission alternatives.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

A predictable pathway for vehicle efficiency and emissions standards will help signal to investors that domestic demand for EVs will grow. Such certainty lowers investment risk, improves coordination across supply chains, creates high-skilled jobs and increases the fiscal efficiency of public support measures.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The countries that succeed in the EV transition will not necessarily be those that spend the most public money, but those that create the clearest and most credible market signals. A fuel efficiency standard is not simply a climate policy, but a mechanism for creating the market conditions required for industrial transformation.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

<\/div>
Recommended<\/span><\/span><\/div><\/a>\n\n\n\n

Consumer acceptance will be equally important. The latest national EV user survey to be conducted by the Electric Mobility Association of Mexico (EMA), published earlier this year, found 90%<\/a> would buy an EV again. That is despite charging infrastructure remaining a primary concern. A major reason for these results was financial, related to the lower maintenance costs and tax breaks that EV owners enjoy.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Ultimately, most drivers want a reliable car with lower running costs; with affordable EV options entering the market, demand will grow. In Mexico, it is clear the market is moving from environmentally conscious early adopters to cost-conscious consumers who will drive demand growth.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

An approach that links consumer incentives and demand support with regulatory certainty will be critical to achieve a sustainable market transformation.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

At a moment when the global automotive industry is being reinvented, Olinia may prove to be far more than an EV project. It may mark the beginning of Mexico\u2019s next industrial chapter. Olinia\u2019s true legacy will therefore not be measured by sales, but by whether the project helps to establish Mexico as an innovator shaping the future of clean mobility.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

The first ever low-cost electric car to be mass-produced in Mexico could herald a new age for electric mobility, writes a clean transport consultant<\/p>\n","protected":false},"featured_media":60141045,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","template":"","categories":[758,757],"tags":[13444,17073,50042420,14061],"country":[50002597],"class_list":["post-60141044","opinion","type-opinion","status-publish","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-business","category-energy","tag-electric-vehicles","tag-energy-transition","tag-opinion","tag-transport","country-mexico"],"acf":[],"yoast_head":"\nMexico has an opportunity to become Latin America\u2019s EV leader<\/title>\n<meta name=\"description\" content=\"The first ever low-cost electric car to be mass-produced in Mexico could herald a new age for electric mobility, writes a clean transport consultant\" \/>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"index, follow, max-snippet:-1, max-image-preview:large, max-video-preview:-1\" \/>\n<link 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