make their own “cheap” electric cars

Donald Trump promised many things during his electoral campaign. Put up legs The country’s renewable energy projects, turn around Bet on electric cars by government institutions, tariffs for … practically all and start the Mexican automotive industry for return it to the United States. Mexico’s response is Olinia, the first national brand of cheap electric cars with prices that start from 4,800 euros to change.

They are already looking for the ideal plant to turn it into a reality, but there is a problem: it is an ambitious project and the road will not be simple.

Repatriating that it is gerund. During the electoral campaign, the Magnate and US president made it clear that one of his main policies during his second term would revolve around protectionism. The President highlighted that “is over” the time when companies were implemented in other countries, causing unemployment in the United States.

It is something that concerns several industries, being the automaker one of the ones that will most notice the effect of these policies and the one Trump has alluded directly. “I don’t want cars manufactured in Canada. I don’t want cars manufactured in Mexico. They have been doing well, but now I want the automotive to manufacture here,” said the president, said, Continuing With that promise to return the golden moment in the automotive production that the country lived a few decades ago.

Duty. The way to do it is through tariffs. The president’s idea is that, through those 25% tariffs To products imported from Mexico or Canada, manufacturers are rethinking manufacturing outside the US territory. Something that they will have to clarify is how these tariffs apply, since, as stated The New York Timesthere are cars that are assembled in Mexico or Canada, but most of its components are manufactured in the United States.

There are also opposite cases, with most pieces made of their borders, but with the final vehicle assembled in US territory. He TOYOTA RAV4 It is an example of the first while the Nissan Rogue enters the second stage.

Beyond the Americans. And it is logical to think that US companies such as Ford (which operates three floors in Mexico and exports tens of thousands of cars each year to the United States) or General Motors (more than 750,000 vehicles produced in Canada and Mexico went to the US in 2024) would be the most interested, but really tariffs They will affect all companies.

BMW, Honda, Mazda, Kia, Nissan, the Stellantis, Toyota, Audi or Volkswagen group have their main plants in the region in Mexico, where they use thousands of people and where they produce hundreds of thousands of units that They will stop to the US market. And this is not theory: cases of non -American companies are already being seen moving for fear of tariffs.

Consequences. For example, Honda has decided produce its new hybrid civic in Indiana instead of in Mexico. Hyundai also has just announced an investment of 21,000 million dollars in four years in the United States, including a steel plant of 5.8 billion dollars in Louisiana. And it could not be clearer: “All these efforts will accelerate the location of our supply chain in the US, will expand our operations and increase our US workforce,” They affirmed From the brand. They also commented that the plant would create 1,300 jobs.

As we read in EFETrump did not hesitate to congratulate himself after these decisions of two of the largest companies in the sector. “This investment clearly demonstrates that tariffs work wonderfully. Hyundai will produce steel in the United States and manufacture their cars in this country, so you will not have to pay tariffs. You already know: there are no tariffs if products are manufactured in the United States,” he said.

Olinia. Does the infrastructure have the US to produce those hundreds of thousands of cars? It is something that Time will saybut given the possible disruption of companies, Mexico already has a plan. Olinia, in the language Nahuatlit means “to move”, and it is the name of the electric car project that Claudia Sheinbaum’s government presented A few weeks ago.

Roberto Capuano is the project coordinator and, as he commented during the project debut, Olinia will be the launch of three vehicles for 2030:

• A small one for the personal mobility of young people and mothers who take their children to school, as an alternative to the purchase of a motorcycle.
• One for mobility in the neighborhood.
• One for merchandise distribution companies of last mile.

The objective is that they are affordable electric cars, with prices of between 90,000 and 150,000 pesos depending on the model (between 4,800 and 8,000 euros), with attractive financing plans so that “electric mobility is available to all Mexicans”.

The challenge of lithium. Olinia is the consecration of that comment that Sheinbaum herself already did in October 2024 when Tesla moved away her new gigafactoría of Mexican lands, but the problem is that it will not be so easy to make a 100% Made in Mexico electric car. The medium Rest of World He was able to talk to a local Tesla service manager who has asked to remain anonymous, but who has left some interesting ideas on the table.

While commenting that producing such a car is an interesting concept, he said that the Olinia project is so ambitious that it will represent technical, economic and logistics difficulties. Now they produce more than three million cars a year, being 80% for the United States, but one thing is that factories are from others … and another very different than you who has control of all the components of a car.

The budget for technology, science and innovation is The smallest Since 2008, the public load infrastructure is poor (being most of it in private residences) and there is an even greater problem: although Mexico has important lithium reserves, crucial component to produce batteries, It does not produce it at an industrial scale.

Complicated relationship with China. There are too many problems because this Mexican lithium is attached to clay, which complicates the obtaining process. In addition, that anonymous source considers that the goal of 2030 is very optimistic and that, to achieve mass production, they would need five more years. But well, they can always import lithium of Chile, Argentina or Boliviacountries that They concentrate Between 50% and 60% of reserves worldwide, or relying on agreements with Chinese companies.

The inconvenience is that, although a few months ago the relationship between China and Mexico seemed idyllic, now it is not so clear. Byd is an example of this, since I know postulated As one of the big companies that would begin to bet on Mexico as a target market for its electric cars, but American espionage fears seem to have caused China to herself facing the company’s plans. And it is not too clear what will happen.

Treading the accelerator. In spite of everything, Olinia seems a priority for the current government, who are already moving to see where the plants can be established to produce the vehicles. Carlos Escorza is the Secretary of Economic Development of Mexico and, as we read in Millenniumproject developers will visit the automotive factories of Ciudad Sahagún to analyze whether it is viable to install a plant in the municipality.

Because the intention is to have several plants distributed by different states to reduce costs. That of Ciudad Sahagún could be a reality with others such as the one expected to be installed in Hidalgo. Candidates it seems that they will not be missing, since companies like Jac They have already shown interest for being one of those who participate in Olinia. Experience do not lack, of course, with models such as E10X 100% electric (Yes, very far from the price that the government wants for Olinia cars).

Tariffs van, tariffs come. In the end, everything is part of the same: the US tariff war with its neighbors, among others. Trump has already made it clear that April 2 It will be The “United States Liberation Day”, arguing that all countries in the world have cheated them for years and that it has been an unfair situation that will now be charged in the form of tariffs.

And that possible scenario in which companies operating in Mexico move to the United States can cause an important industrial socavon in the Latin American country due to a lack of investment and, therefore, carrying the loss of thousands of jobs. As we read in CNN MexicoSheinbaum has already commented that you have to wait at that date to see which tariffs impose them and if they respond reciprocally to the United States … or not.

We will see how history develops and what direction takes the Olinia project of a government whose next hot potato will not be the production of cars at the local level, but that April 2.

Images | Government of Mexico, Ruindig/Yuki Uchida

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