A BYD Seagull in China. The company remains interested in expanding in the Americas but has no timeline to make a new investment. (Qilai Shen/Bloomberg)
China’s top electric vehicle maker, BYD Co., has shelved plans to build a major plant in Mexico over geopolitical tensions and uncertainty stemming from President Donald Trump’s trade policies.
The company remains interested in expanding in the Americas but has no timeline to make a new investment, BYD Executive Vice President Stella Li said in a July 1 interview in the Brazilian state of Bahia, where the company is opening its first factory outside Asia.
“Geopolitical issues have a big impact on the automotive industry,” Li said. “Now everybody is rethinking their strategy in other countries. We want to wait for more clarity before making our decision.”
BYD had been scouting three locations in Mexico for the new car plant before it stopped actively searching last year as it awaited the results of the U.S. presidential election, Bloomberg News reported in September.
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Mexico President Claudia Sheinbaum in March said BYD hadn’t made a formal offer to invest in the country. China’s commerce ministry delayed approval of BYD’s Mexico plant over concerns that the company’s technology could be accessed by the U.S., the Financial Times reported in March.
That was before Trump announced sweeping tariffs on dozens of U.S. trading partners and separate taxes on certain imported goods including autos, upending industry supply lines.
U.S. carmakers have warned that the tariffs will impose billions of dollars in additional costs. General Motors Co. last month said it would spend $4 billion in a plan to shift production of several pickup and SUV models from factories in Mexico to the U.S.
BYD still plans to expand its production footprint, but it’s unclear when that decision will be made due to the uncertain global trade environment, Li said.
