BYD’s first shipment to Mexico on company-owned vessel marks ‘milestone’ for EV expansion

It is not yet wide whether Chinese automaker BYD volition physique a works successful Mexico, but the world’s largest electrical conveyance shaper underscored its committedness to the Mexican marketplace by dispatching 1 of its ain car bearer ships to ports successful Sinaloa and Michoacán this month.

The BYD Changzhou, a 200-meter-long roll-on/roll-off vessel that flies the emblem of the West African state Liberia, docked successful the ports of Mazatlán and Lázaro Cárdenas this month, delivering a full of 5,503 vehicles.

The BYD CHANGZHOU, the archetypal vas from BYD, arrived astatine the Port of Mazatlán, wherever the unloading of automobiles began. This important cognition marks a wide measurement toward the aboriginal of the automotive manufacture successful the country, helping amended larboard logistics and positioning Mexico… pic.twitter.com/s5wosiBBkI

— Maritimex (@MaritimexMX) June 16, 2025

BYD has been selling cars successful Mexico since 2023, but hadn’t antecedently brought vehicles to the state connected 1 of its ain ships.

In a video filmed astatine the larboard successful Mazatlán, BYD México president Ray Zou said that the accomplishment of the company’s Changzhou vas is not lone a “milestone” for BYD, “but besides shows however important the Mexican marketplace is for BYD globally.”

“… In the future, BYD volition proceed to supply much reliable and fancy products to the Mexican market,” helium said.

The BYD Changzhou, named aft the Jiangsu state metropolis wherever the institution has a plant, is 1 of 4 BYD vessels that are presently successful service. The institution announced the transportation of its 5th conveyance bearer connected Saturday, according to the state-owned China Daily.

The BYD Changzhou delivered 2,000 vehicles to the larboard successful Mazatlán, wherever it arrived connected June 6, and 3,503 to the larboard successful Lázaro Cárdenas.

Mauricio Ortiz, wide manager of the Mazatlán Maritime Terminal, said that the accomplishment of the vessel “reinforces the strategical presumption of Mazatlán successful automotive assemblage logistics chains.”

🚢⚡ Arribo histórico en el Puerto Lázaro Cárdenas: recibimos el buque “BYD CHANGZHOU” con 3,503 vehículos eléctricos.
Consulta la nota completa aquí: https://t.co/JabT0rb6AA#PuertoLázaroCárdenas #BYD #SSA #Ultratug #ASIPONA #MovilidadSostenible pic.twitter.com/E8kHHK97ZB

— PuertoLazaroCardenas (@PtoLazaroCarden) June 13, 2025

Port authorities successful Lázaro Cárdenas said that the accomplishment of BYD’s vessel successful Mexico represents “not conscionable a logistical milestone, but besides the strengthening of the commercialized narration with a marque that is transforming the planetary electrical transport panorama.”

BYD México said successful a LinkedIn station past week that the institution took “a decisive measurement successful its enlargement strategy with the accomplishment of its Changzhou vessel to the larboard of Mazatlán.”

“This lawsuit doesn’t conscionable correspond a logistical beforehand but besides reaffirms the committedness of the institution to fortify its beingness successful the full state and instrumentality electrical mobility to much regions of Mexico,” BYD said.

The company’s cars presently look a 20% tariff erstwhile entering Mexico, but determination is simply a anticipation that the work volition summation successful the adjacent future. BYD and different Chinese automakers are pursuing an assertive export strategy and person recovered a important fig of buyers successful Mexico successful caller years.

BYD income successful Mexico 

BYD sold 40,000 electrical and hybrid vehicles successful Mexico past year, according to the company. That fig was 10,000 abbreviated of the company’s anticipation of 50,000, arsenic mentioned by BYD’s wide manager successful Mexico, Jorge Vallejo, past October. The institution is aiming to merchantability 80,000 vehicles successful Mexico this year.

Sales of 40,000 units successful 2024 made BYD the 13th best-selling car marque successful Mexico, according to the paper El Financiero. A full of 69,713 electrical and plug-in hybrid (PHEV) vehicles were sold successful Mexico past year, according to the Electro Mobility Association, an summation of implicit 80% compared to 2023. Thus, BYD was No. 1 for income successful the EV/PHEV conception of the car market, which accounted for astir 5% of full car income successful Mexico successful 2024.

BYD has immoderate 50 dealerships successful Mexico, and successful January, Vallejo outlined plans to unfastened 30 more.

In aboriginal 2024, the institution confirmed that it intended to unfastened a works successful Mexico, but astir 1 and a fractional years later, it is uncertain whether it volition successful information bash so.

FT: China is withholding support for BYD’s Mexico works owed to tech concerns

The Financial Times reported successful March that the Chinese authorities was delaying support for BYD to physique a works successful Mexico amid concerns that the company’s astute car exertion could beryllium accessed by the United States.

President Claudia Sheinbaum said past November that determination was “not yet immoderate steadfast concern task [in Mexico] from immoderate Chinese automotive company,” including BYD.

In April, she described precocious request for foreign-made vehicles successful Mexico arsenic a “problem.”

“The occupation is that we’re importing a batch of vehicles, peculiarly from Asia, and this is not thing against immoderate Asian state oregon thing similar that,” Sheinbaum said.

She said that her authorities is seeking to bolster home conveyance accumulation truthful that the bulk of vehicles purchased successful Mexico are made successful Mexico.

It remains to beryllium seen however that nonsubjective volition impact BYD’s wide purpose of selling much electrical vehicles successful Mexico and frankincense expanding its stock of the wide marketplace for caller cars.

Jorge Guajardo, a erstwhile Mexican ambassador to China, asserted earlier this twelvemonth that allowing Chinese vehicles to proceed coming into the state with a tariff of conscionable 20% volition “put an extremity to [automotive] accumulation successful Mexico.”

In an interrogation with Mexico News Daily past year, helium asserted that Mexico, wherever applicable, should rise its tariffs connected Chinese imports to lucifer those of the United States.

Reuters reported successful April that “China ships precise fewer cars to the United States, which imposed a 100% tariff connected imported Chinese electrical vehicles nether the erstwhile medication of President Joe Biden.”

With reports from Cluster Industrial and T21