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Mexico on Monday announced plans for a locally-designed affordable small electric car, months after Tesla CEO Elon Musk halted plans for a factory there over the threat of tariff hikes from US President-elect Donald Trump.
The Mexican government said the cars would be manufactured through a public-private partnership and would cost between 90,000 and 150,000 pesos (between $4,400 and $7,400).
“It will be the first Mexican manufacturer of mini vehicles, developed by Mexican engineering,” Roberto Capuano, the head of the company set up to manufacture the cars, Olinia, told reporters at President Claudia Sheinbaum’s daily press conference.
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Capuano said the cars would offer Mexicans an alternative to foreign electric vehicle brands, which he called “expensive and out of reach of Mexican families.”
He said the government was currently looking for an assembly site, but that it hoped to roll out the first model by the start of the 2026 World Cup, which kicks off in Mexico City on June 11 that year.
In July last year, Mexico suffered bitter disappointment after Musk suspended plans to build a massive new electric vehicle plant near the northern city of Monterrey after Trump vowed “heavy” tariffs on Mexican goods.
“I think we need to see just where things stand after the election,” said Musk, who is acting as a top advisor to Trump.
Musk’s decision came as a blow to the Mexican government, which had excitedly talked up the mooted new Tesla Gigafactory as “very big” with the potential to create “many jobs.”
Mexico is the world’s seventh-largest automobile producer, with Volkswagen, Ford, General Motors and several Chinese automakers all operating south of the US border.