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Sustainability
Downtown traffic in Mexico City. The electrification of transportation is a challenge in this Latin American country, where over 58 million vehicles are in circulation. Credit: Emilio Godoy / IPS
– Mexico has seen several attempts at assembling electric vehicles (EVs), powered by rechargeable batteries, which have faced challenges related to industrial scale, supply chains, and competitiveness
These issues also complicate the new state production plan for the Taruk bus (meaning “roadrunner” in Yaqui) and the lightweight Olinia car (meaning “movement” in Nahuatl), based on the country’s long automotive experience and a growing market. The plan was formally announced in January by President Claudia Sheinbaum.
Experts consulted by IPS praised the initiative but warned of significant technological, regulatory, and infrastructure challenges in a country where transportation generates nearly a third of all polluting emissions. Cleaning up this sector would benefit urban health.
“Asians, especially the Chinese, have developed very advanced technology; they are 15 years ahead of us. There’s no comparison. Government support is minimal and doesn’t meet the huge demand of the automotive sector. If Mexico wants to compete with those who have taken over the electric market, it has to invest,” Gustavo Jiménez
“Asians, especially the Chinese, have developed very advanced technology; they are 15 years ahead of us. There is no comparison. Government support is extremely minimal and does not meet the significant demands of the automotive sector,” said Gustavo Jiménez, director of the private Grupo E-mobilitas, which specializes in electromobility consulting.
During his dialogue with IPS, he emphasized that “if Mexico wants to compete with those who have taken over the electric market, it has to invest.”
Information reviewed by IPS shows that the development of the Taruk bus is more advanced, while the Olinia car still lacks a defined strategy. This comes at a challenging time for the sector due to threats of extraordinary tariffs by U.S. President Donald Trump on vehicles assembled in Mexico.
Additionally, the installation of EV plants by U.S.-based Tesla and China’s Build Your Dreams (BYD) has been temporarily halted. BYD faces tariffs imposed by the U.S. government on Asian products entering its market.
In fact, prototypes of a Mexican electric bus were designed in 2024 as part of the project “Development of a Mexican Electric Public Transport Bus and Study for the Implementation of Electromobility in Cities to Boost the Country’s Lithium Value Chain.”
The electromobility project is being carried out by the new Secretariat of Science, Humanities, Technologies, and Innovation (Secihti) and private Mexican companies Dina and MegaFlux, which already manufacture electric buses and trucks.
The initiative for electric buses, launched in 2023 with a budget of around US$900,000, aims to accelerate the introduction of Mexican-made units with indigenous technology, strengthen the national EV industry, and support the growth of this segment, given the urgent need to clean up transportation.
The Taruk model will be assembled in the state of Hidalgo, near Mexico City, and benefits from an existing production platform. Its projected weight is 12.5 tons, with a battery discharge rate of around 90% and a range of 180 to 361 kilometers, making it ideal for urban environments.
In comparison, the 50 buses introduced by the capital’s government in October 2024, imported from the Chinese brand Yutong, have a range of 300 kilometers.
In January, President Claudia Sheinbaum announced the state production of the Olinia electric car, designed for short trips. However, the project faces significant technological, economic, and commercial challenges. Credit: Government of Mexico
Competition
The Olinia cars, whose plant will operate in the state of Puebla, bordering Mexico City, has a budget of 1.22 million dollars. They are designed for short trips, with prices ranging from US$ 4,383 to
The Secihti, along with the National Polytechnic Institute and the Mexican Institute of Technology, still lack detailed development plans for the three Olinia models, including a small van.
Currently, automotive companies in Mexico, the world’s seventh-largest producer of light vehicles and third-largest exporter, do not receive subsidies to accelerate the introduction of electric vehicles.
Leticia Jiménez, regional leader for Mexico and Canada at the non-governmental International Council on Clean Transportation, based in Washington, believes the government understands the opportunity to integrate into a valuable supply chain and build economies of scale.
“This is a great opportunity for Mexico to transform its automotive industry, develop manufacturing capabilities to produce vehicles with higher national content. This value addition is a great opportunity to integrate further into this supply chain,” she told IPS.
In 2021, Mexico joined the Glasgow Pact on Electromobility during the climate summit in the Scottish city, which sets a voluntary target of 50% of light vehicle sales being electric and plug-in hybrid by 2030 and 100% by 2040—goals that are difficult to achieve under current conditions.
A prototype of the Taruk electric bus (meaning “roadrunner” in the Yaqui language), designed by the Mexican government and private companies for urban environments in this Latin American country. Credit: Dina
For independent consultant Víctor Alvarado, the intersection of mobility and electricity generation, dominated by fossil fuels in Mexico, must be considered.
“What’s announced but not fully realized is electromobility, and what’s happening is the electrification of heavy and light transportation. Given the composition of the energy matrix, transportation will continue to generate emissions if we don’t commit to electric vehicles,” he told IPS.
The new bus and car ventures will face an increasingly competitive domestic market dominated by U.S., European, and Chinese brands, which have reported significant expansion since 2023.
In recent years, sales of electric and hybrid vehicles, which run on gasoline and electric batteries, have grown in this country of 129 million people, where over 58 million vehicles, mostly cars, are in circulation.
In 2024, EV sales increased by 71%, from 14,172 units in 2023 to 24,283 the following year. The hybrid segment saw the most growth, with sales jumping from 60,146 to 100,020 between the two years, a 66% increase.
The same trend was seen in passenger vehicles, where fossil fuel-powered units, mainly diesel, still dominate. Hybrid model sales surged from just two in 2023 to 670 last year, while electric vehicle sales grew by 16%, from 252 to 294.
However, electric vehicle projects are happening in a legal vacuum. The national strategy, which outlined specific actions and goals, was ready in 2023 but has not been published. While the 2022 General Law on Mobility and Road Safety promotes sustainable transportation, it does not address electric mobility.
Initially, electric mobility in Mexico has the advantage of lithium deposits in rocks and clays, a key element for rechargeable batteries, especially in the northern state of Sonora.
However, environmentalists argue that these deposits are potentially unviable environmentally, economically, and technologically due to water consumption in extraction and high processing costs.
Sales of hybrid and electric vehicles have been growing in recent years in Mexico, though at a slower pace than needed to transition to low-emission transportation. Graph: Amia
Background
The cases of the Mexican private corporation Zacua and Bolivia’s Quantum Motors, whose partner in Mexico is Megaflux, are also illustrative.
The former, located in Puebla, has sold a few dozen units since 2019, with a cost per unit of around $25,000, practically the same as other foreign brands.
Meanwhile, Quantum has sold over 500 cars in Bolivia, El Salvador, Mexico, Paraguay, and Peru since 2019, with their models priced between US$ 6,000 and
Mexico has at least 39 automotive plants, including three EV assemblers. Of these, 22 manufacture vehicles and are located in central and northern Mexico, attracted by access to the U.S. market, the main export destination, under the free trade agreement shared with Canada.
Since 2018, Mexico City, with nearly nine million inhabitants and about 24 million in the metropolitan area, has made progress in electrifying public transportation, with units in the Metrobus system and bus routes.
Additionally, cities like Guadalajara, the capital of the western state of Jalisco, and Mérida, the capital of the southeastern state of Yucatán, have promoted similar projects.
The National Strategy for Industrialization and Shared Prosperity, also known as Plan Mexico and announced in January, includes 10 electromobility projects in public transportation across 10 states, with an undefined budget.
Experts consulted by IPS agreed on the importance of comprehensive regulation covering energy sources, infrastructure deployment, vehicle safety, and consumer rights.
For Jiménez, public-private partnerships with Mexican companies and a focus on public transportation are advisable.
“There needs to be significant production capacity to leverage technological advantages and drive industrial development. Electromobility is positioned as a potential solution to health problems, but we must think about public transportation to optimize time, modernize fleets, and reduce environmental impact,” he stated.
Pineda also agreed that delays in the process could result in high costs.
“There’s a lack of joint effort and government support for this transition. These are long-term transformations that require government commitment to provide certainty for investments and the entire supply chain, ensuring progress in electromobility. There needs to be an ecosystem that provides clarity on the direction, so projects don’t remain pilot initiatives,” he emphasized.