Little by little, Latin America is emerging as a key player in the zero-emission pathway. With governmental initiatives, international alliances, and local production plans, the region is placing itself on the global electromobility map.
There are statements of intent, but what are the projects?
Below, Mobility Portal Latinoamérica elaborates on the current state of affairs with the main countries planning to manufacture electric vehicles in the coming years.
Colombia
It could be said that Colombia is characterized by having a president who advocates electromobility: Gustavo Petro demonstrated on several occasions his enthusiasm for turning Colombia into a country that produces and assembles electric vehicles.
Although there are declarations of intent, there are still no concrete actions that would materialize the assembly of an electric vehicle in the country.
In line with an initiative that establishes a reindustrialization of the economy, he confirmed last year on his social networks that he would not only seek to promote the manufacture of national electric vehicles but also to promote the transition.
In March of this year, the Ministry of Mines and Energy of Colombia announced a plan to reindustrialize electric mobility that seeks to incentivize the local value chain and strengthen the competitiveness of companies in the sector.
The goal is to take advantage of the country’s potential to produce and export new electric vehicles.
In addition, under the slogan of “Latin American integration projects”, the Government emphasized the possibility of collaborating in the development of electric vehicles together with Bolivia, with the technological advantages that Venezuela and Colombia have.
Now, what is the current situation?
Historically, the national production of vehicles, until now powered by combustion, was in charge of Renault Sofasa and Colmotores (Chevrolet).
Neither of them is dedicated to the assembly of 100 per cent electric vehicles .
In May, General Motors announced the closure of the Colmotores production plant in Bogotá.
It is worth remembering that General Motors marked the beginning of local vehicle manufacturing in Colombia and its closure, after seven decades of production, marked the end of an era and raised some questions about the steps to follow.
Thus, Sofasa, with a production capacity of 80,000 vehicles per year, is the only active passenger vehicle assembly plant in the country.
Hino, part of the Toyota Group, also operates in the region, but they are dedicated to assembling buses and trucks.
In dialogue with Mobility Portal Latinoamérica, the president of Renault Sofasa, Ariel Montenegro, expressed that “to assemble electric vehicles, we must first strengthen the value chain.”
It is essential to work together with the National Government, especially with regard to export competitiveness and tax mechanisms that favor assembly and production in Colombia for import.
“A reindustrialization policy without export incentives and without positioning Colombia as a supplier to neighboring markets that add to the activity is unsustainable,” he said.
Mexico
Mexico is a different case. It is the seventh largest producer in the world and the leader in Latin America in terms of electromobility.
The Chinese-Mexican company in charge of assembling electric cars SEV announced an investment of 400 million dollars for the installation of a plant in Durango in 2025.
The model it will focus on is the E-Wan Cross electric Mini SUV and the company plans to produce around 5,000 over the next year.
Toyota also plans to manufacture its electric models in Mexico.
That is the case of the Tacoma truck, a hybrid vehicle that will be manufactured in Guanajuato thanks to an investment of 328 million dollars.
The Mexican-made 2024 Tacoma will be distributed mainly in the US market.
Denso will also finance a plant with 13 million dollars that will employ 450 people.
On the other hand, starting in January of this year, distribution of the 2024 Ford Maverick Hybrid model began, completely manufactured in Hermosillo, Sonora, after its arrival in South America by import at the beginning of 2023.
For its part, Tesla, the North American leader in the production of electric cars, has opted for Nueva León and announced the construction of a Gigafactory in Monterrey to assemble its vehicles.
It is estimated that it could start operating in 2026 or 2027 according to its suppliers.
Great Wall Motors (GWM) also appears on the scene with the announcement of an electric vehicle assembly plant this year.
The same is true for Volkswagen (VW). The automaker will invest 942 million dollars in its Puebla plant to create a strategic center for electromobility, with the aim of promoting the assembly of electric and hybrid cars and strengthening the North American region.
Peru
It is a fact that Peru is looking for investors to produce electric vehicles.
The signal was clear: the Minister of Economy and Finance of Peru announced that he will seek to assemble electric vehicles at the Chancay Port Terminal that is soon to be inaugurated.
Along these lines, the names that resonate the most are XIAOMI and BYD. In fact, the first president of Peru is in China to meet with important businessmen.
The focus is on whether it will seek to attract new investments and bilateral agreements on electromobility, such as updating the Free Trade Agreement, to turn the country into a nerve center for the electric vehicle value chain.
Brasil
Brazil is positioned as an interesting market for Chinese investments, since they could distribute electric vehicles in the region without paying tariffs.
By late 2024 and early 2025, BYD has confirmed it will produce the Dolphin, Dolphin Mini, Yuan Plus electric models and the Song Plus hybrid, with nearly 150,000 units per year.
Great Wall, meanwhile, is looking to begin production at a plant near São Paulo before the end of this year.
This year, the Brazilian government imposed ten per cent tariffs on imports of electric vehicles, and they will increase to 35 per cent by 2026.
Similarly, to export cars made in Brazil to other Latin American countries without tariffs, producers need to obtain about half of their components from the local industry.
Both BYD and Great Wall are faced with the challenge of importing from China for subsequent assembly in Brazil.
