The battle for supremacy in the automotive world is moving to Mexican terrain, where two of the most aggressive Chinese automakers - BYD and Geely - have entered a direct clash for a new “home”. According to the latest news from the industry, these two giants, along with Vietnamese innovator VinFast, are the finalists in the bidding for the joint Nissan-Mercedes-Benz plant in Aguascalientes.
This is not just a real estate purchase, but a strategic move of enormous importance. At stake? A powerful factory with a capacity of 230,000 cars per year, which until now produced luxury models such as the Infiniti QX50 and Mercedes-Benz GLB. As Nissan and Mercedes-Benz shift their resources, Chinese companies see this as an ideal shortcut to the North and Latin American markets, bypassing the grueling bureaucracy of building factories “from scratch.”
The numbers behind this appetite are more than eloquent. BYD has increased its sales tenfold in just five years, and together with Geely they have already passed the 4 million vehicle sales mark per year – an achievement that puts them in the same league as veterans like Ford. In Mexico itself, their presence has exploded from zero to an impressive 10% market share in negative time. While traditional players like General Motors are forced to lay off thousands of workers due to falling demand in the United States, Chinese investors promise to breathe new life into the local industry.
Of course, nothing in this sector is without political sparks. Mexico is in a delicate situation, balancing on the edge between the "economic gift" from the East and the heavy gaze of Washington. Donald Trump's administration has already expressed serious concerns that the country is becoming a "backdoor" for Chinese goods to avoid US tariffs. In an attempt to cool the heat and appease its northern neighbor, Mexico City has already imposed a drastic 50% tariff on Chinese car imports - a measure that has ironically become an even stronger incentive for BYD and Geely to start assembling their cars directly on Mexican soil.
The fate of the Aguascalientes plant is expected to be decided very soon. If the deal goes through, it will mark the end of an era for Japanese-German cooperation in the region and will usher in a new, "electrified" era under the Chinese flag.