There’s been a lot of talk lately about the potential for Chinese automakers to invade the U.S. with cheap cars and crossovers, and displacing domestic legacy auto builders in their own market. The fact is, no Chinese car company sells cars in U.S., and the few Chinese built vehicles that are sold here are retailed by familiar brands. For 2024, the Buick Envision, Lincoln Nautilus, and a handful of Volvo models sold in the U.S. are built in China.
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Mexico’s Chinese Chevys
Also, well in advance of any such Sino-product invasion, President Biden slapped a 100-percent tariff on electric Chinese-vehicle imports, which comes on top of the 2.5-percent tariff already applied to all cars and trucks exported to The States. So much for Chinese EVs shaking up the U.S. market…
But, things are different in Mexico. Crazy different.
General Motors’ Chevrolet is one of the best-selling auto brands in Mexico. Chevy’s appeal to the car shoppers of Mexico is driven by the brand’s well-established dealer network, and product affordability.
But affordability in the U.S. and Mexico are very different things. While American consumers shy away from subcompact cars, Mexican shoppers do not, providing those cars are priced right. And to hit that price point, Chevrolet has turned to China for a full lineup of products priced well below anything sold here in the U.S.
Of the 173,000 vehicles Chevrolet retailed in Mexico in 2023, 74,000 of those were built in China. And, despite Mexico’s stiff 20-percent automotive import tariff, those China-made cars and crossovers are very attractively priced.
Meet the Aveo
Meet the Aveo. A Chevrolet called Aveo was sold in the U.S. for a number of years, but was never very popular. In Mexico, the Aveo is Chevrolet’s best-selling model, and it is imported from China. Though new last year, Mexican shoppers snapped up almost 22,000 Aveos, which is offered in sedan and hatchback form.
In total, Chevrolet sells seven Chinese-built models in Mexico, all of which are built by General Motors’ Chinese joint venture with Shanghai Automotive Industry Corporation (SAIC Motor, or just SAIC). Here’s a list of those cars with prices:
Chevrolet Aveo
Segment: Subcompact sedan and hatchback
Base price: $306,600 MX ($15,950)
Based on: Wuling Xingchi
Tornado
Segment: Small commercial van
Base price: $299,900 MX ($15,600)
Based on: Wuling Hongguang V
Onix
Segment: Subcompact sedan
Base price: $334,400 MX ($17,400)
Based on: Buick Excelle (China)
Cavalier
Segment: Compact sedan
Base price: $385,900 MX ($20,100)
Based on: Chevrolet Cavalier (China)
Groove
Segment: Subcompact crossover
Base price: $387,900 MX ($20,200)
Based on: Baojun 510
Tracker
Segment: Subcompact crossover
Base price: $411,400 MX ($21,499)
Based on: Chevrolet Tracker (China)
Chevrolet Captiva
Segment: Subcompact crossover
Base price: $477,000 MX ($24,800)
Based on: Baojun 530
S10 Max
Segment: Compact pickup truck
Base price: $483,600 MX ($25,150)
Based on: Maxus T70
Also imported to Mexico by Chevrolet from outside of the USMCA Zone:
Chevrolet Trax (Built in South Korea by General Motors)
Segment: Subcompact crossover
Base price: $500,100 MX ($26,000)
Montana (Built in Brazil by General Motors)
Segment: Small pickup truck
Base price: $533,400 MX ($27,750)
As pointed out by Sam Fiorani, Vice President of Forecasting at AutoForecast Solutions, Mexico has no national auto industry, so there is no nationalistic tendency to shun Chinese-made vehicles. While Mexico is a major manufacturer of cars and trucks, there are no Mexican-brand vehicles, thus there is little in the way of protectionist attitudes.
It is worth noting that while there is little likelihood of Chinese-brand vehicles being imported into the U.S. directly from that country, China is exploring assembling cars in Mexico, and then exporting them to the U.S. Per the USMCA trade agreement, vehicles built in the U.S., Mexico, or Canada, can to be sold in any of these three countries without tariff.
Note also that the vehicles imported to Mexico from China would likely not pass U.S. federal guidelines for safety and crashworthiness. We’re not suggesting that these vehicles are not safe, only that they may not being as safe as those sold in the U.S., and may in part be more affordable for that reason.
Finally, Chevrolet also sells a full compliment of U.S. market vehicles in Mexico, including the Equinox EV small crossover, Blazer and Traverse midsize crossovers, and the big Tahoe and Suburban SUVs. These vehicles are not sold at a discount in Mexico relative to those sold in the U.S., and are considered luxury products for that reasons.
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