China’s premier automakers are flooding Mexico with cheap Electric Vehicles (EVs) in the hopes of selling in the United States next.
Car dealerships selling China’s BYD Auto, Geely, Chery, and SAIC Motor are cropping up across Mexico as they simultaneously look for spots to build auto plants south of the U.S. — a move that President-elect Donald Trump and Vice President-elect JD Vance have long warned of.
“… there is little doubt that, eventually, Chinese carmakers hope to use Mexico as an on-ramp to the United States,” the New York Times reports.
Already, as the Times reports, about 80 percent of cars manufactured in Mexico end up being sold in the U.S. market as they face a maximum tariff of only 2.5 percent. Trump, though, has suggested he wants higher tariffs on Mexican-made cars.
In particular, Trump said in October that he would levy steep tariffs on Mexican-made cars coming into the U.S. market should Chinese automakers start building plants in the country.
“China is building massive auto plants in Mexico and they’re going to build them and they’re going to take those cars and sell them into the United States,” Trump said.
“They’re going to have all the advantages and none of the disadvantages and that’s going to be the end of Michigan, the end of South Carolina, the end of everything,” he continued. “… if you don’t [impose tariffs], this country has no chance.”
This year, China became the world’s top exporter of cars — surpassing Japan. Similarly, BYD Auto became the world’s biggest seller of EVs, beating U.S.-based Tesla for the top honor.
John Binder is a reporter for Breitbart News. Email him at jbinder@breitbart.com. Follow him on Twitter here.