Chinese automakers BYD and Geely bid to acquire a Nissan plant in Mexico

Chinese electric‑vehicle giant BYD continues to view Mexico as a potential manufacturing hub — and it’s not alone. The Asian automaker, along with its competitor Geely and Vietnam’s VinFast, has set its sights on Nissan’s plant in the state of Aguascalientes, which is in the process of shutting down. According to Reuters, the soon‑to‑close factory has become the target of an intense bidding process involving nine companies, with Geely, VinFast, and BYD emerging as finalists.

Sources close to the automotive sector confirmed to EL PAÍS that a sale is possible, though talks are not yet official. Asked about the process, Nissan said it is focused on carrying out the shutdown in an orderly and responsible manner. “Beyond this announcement, there is no additional confirmed information,” the company said. Requests for comment from the other firms went unanswered by the time of publication.

Last year, Nissan announced that as part of its global restructuring, it would gradually shutter the plant, with the final vehicles expected to roll off the line in May 2026. For Asian competitors, the Aguascalientes facility — with a production capacity of 230,000 units — is attractive because of its geographic location, its links to other industrial plants, and the support the state has provided to the sector for more than 30 years. According to Reuters, other interested parties included China’s Chery and Great Wall Motor, though neither made it to the final stage of the bidding.

However, the possibility of this deal comes at a time of tension between Mexico and the U.S. due to the upcoming review of the USMCA trade agreement in July. On more than one occasion, U.S. President Donald Trump has accused Mexico of being a gateway for Asian products to enter the U.S. without paying tariffs — a charge from which Mexico’s automotive sector has not been spared. Despite the tariff barriers the Republican has imposed on vehicle imports, Mexico remains a long‑term bet for this kind of investment thanks to its attractive domestic market and the medium‑term possibility of becoming an export platform for Latin America and the United States through the USMCA.

In the case of BYD, its plans to have a plant in Mexico date back to 2023. At that time, the company was proposing to build a factory from scratch with a budget of $1 billion. Several states — including Jalisco and Nuevo León — submitted proposals to host the plant. However, Trump’s return to the White House — and his sharply protectionist stance toward China — abruptly put those plans on hold. Until now. Ignacio Martínez Cortés, coordinator of the National Autonomous University of Mexico’s (UNAM) Laboratory for Trade, Economy and Business Analysis, notes that these automakers are seeking to consolidate themselves in the domestic market and do not envision exporting in the short term.

BYD, the Chinese automotive giant that has at times surpassed U.S.‑based Tesla in global sales, has had to navigate the various tariff barriers imposed worldwide on Asian‑made vehicles — including those from Mexico. Starting in 2026, the Mexican government of Claudia Sheinbaum raised tariffs to 50% on vehicles imported from countries with which Mexico has no trade agreement, a list that includes China and Vietnam. At the time, the move was interpreted as an attempt by the Mexican administration to curry favor with the United States, its main trading partner. Now, however, it appears to be an opportunity for new Asian investment.

The explosive global growth of China’s automotive industry runs parallel to Chinese automakers’ appetite for Mexico. Chinese brands currently account for 9.4% of the Mexican market, according to data from Mexico’s National Institute of Statistics and Geography (Inegi) — although several of these companies, including BYD, do not report their sales figures, meaning their true market share in Latin America’s second‑largest economy remains unknown.

Sign up for our weekly newsletter to get more English-language news coverage from EL PAÍS USA Edition