Lack of Infrastructure Slows Down Electromobility Transition

Experts highlighted that Mexico is experiencing a great time regarding the transition toward electromobility. However, this opportunity could be delayed due to a lack of adequate infrastructure such as charging stations.

According to INEGI, hybrid and electric vehicle sales reached 4,263 units in January 2023, representing an increase of 30.9% over the 3,257 vehicles sold during January 2022. Mexico City, the State of Mexico, Nuevo Leon and Jalisco saw 56.3% of the country’s sales. Moreover, during this period, purchases of fully electric cars rose from 237 to 665 units, which represented an accelerated increase of 181%.

Nonetheless, experts point out that the country still has to deal with the lack of infrastructure, security and government support, both for manufacturers to operate more easily and for the customers to stimulate the market. "Mexico has great potential to encourage electric mobility. The installation of Tesla's gigafactory is helping the industry grow but more incentives from the government are needed,” said Israel Hurtado, President of both the Mexican Hydrogen Association and Sustainable Mobility. Hurtado highlighted fiscal incentives such as electric vehicle charging stations, the free use of parking meters and the removal of highway tolls should be promoted.?

The National Auto Parts Industry (INA) revealed that there are around 1,189 charging stations for electric vehicles in the country, a very low level compared to other nations such as the Netherlands, which operates a total of 58,500 charging stations, Germany, with 24,600, and France with 21,000. In this regard, the BMW Group announced a partnership with the energy company Evergo to install up to 4,000 charging stations in Mexico.

"It is interesting to observe the dynamic of more advanced countries in this industry. The Netherlands has 239 public stations for every 1,000 electric or hybrid vehicles, the US has 72 and China 217. Now that the electromobility market is ticking up, infrastructure will grow," said Hurtado.

José Zozaya, President, the Mexican Association of the Automotive Industry (AMIA) said public policies are required for the transition to electromobility. He pointed out that the Mexican industry is not concerned about the supply of inputs such as lithium. Meanwhile, some companies with investments in this sector have announced that they will bring their own suppliers due to nearshoring. "We know that some manufacturers have been looking for input suppliers, but we are not worried about that. All raw materials that will be required for this transition are available," stated Zozaya.?