In that year, Mexican purchases of cars from the Asian giant were US$4,602 million, while those shipped from the United States totaled US$4,486 million.
China displaced the United States as the first source of automobile imports to Mexico in 2023, after a historical American dominance, according to data from the Ministry of Economy.
In that year, Mexican purchases of cars from China were US$4,602 million, while those shipped from the United States totaled US$4,486 million.
China is the largest producer of light vehicles in the world and its government and Chinese companies have maintained an aggressive sales strategy towards the world's main markets in recent years.
To put this in perspective with respect to the Mexican market: imports to Mexico of cars of Chinese origin grew 100% and those of American origin advanced 39.6% in 2023, at interannual rates.
Going forward: this same indicator grew 50.8% in the first five months of 2024 in the case of China and fell 13.9% compared to the United States.
And in a decade of hindsight: Mexican car imports from China were practically zero in 2014, in contrast to American imports that were then US$3,285 million.
Another event that exemplifies this dynamism occurs in Europe. Exports of electric vehicles manufactured in China to the European Union (EU) have increased greatly in the last two years. This has led the European Commission to launch an investigation into subsidies in the Chinese electric vehicle industry.
On September 13, 2023, the President of the European Commission, Ursula von der Leyen, announced the start of this investigation. According to her, China is distorting the EU market by keeping prices “artificially low through huge state subsidies”. The investigation formally began on October 4, 2023.
According to the latest statistics from the Chinese Association of Automobile Manufacturers (CAAM), the production and sales volume of passenger vehicles in 2023 were 26.1 million and 26.1 million units respectively, an increase of 9.7 and 10.6%, respectively, compared to 2022.
In turn, the volume of production and sales of commercial vehicles in 2023 was 4.0 million units, for both indicators, which represents an increase of 25.0 and 21.2%, at interannual rates and in that order.
The growth of China's automotive production began focused on that nation's domestic market, but now its dynamism is combined with local and foreign sales.
China not only manufactures traditional vehicles, but is also a leader in the production of electric vehicles. In addition, Chinese companies have invested heavily in advanced technology and there has been a greater presence of foreign companies in China's manufacturing platform.
After registering a year-on-year increase of 15% in 2020, the year that the Covid-19 pandemic impacted the world the most, car exports from China climbed 146% in 2021, then 83% in 2022 and, finally, 74% in 2023.
This unusual pace allowed China to surpass the United States in its respective car exports to the world in 2023, with US$ 77,659 million and 63,035 million, respectively.
