Chinese cars are a topic that can be analyzed from various perspectives, but it’s a fact that their success cannot be easily contained, as some Chinese brands found ways to circumvent some of the tariffs imposed earlier this year.
To briefly recap, the Federal Government established 50% tariffs on vehicles manufactured in countries with which Mexico does not have a free trade agreement, especially China. However, some brands anticipated this and imported more vehicles in 2025 than they had projected for the last few months of the year.
According to data from the China Passenger Car Association, 625,187 vehicles arrived in Mexico from China throughout last year, making our country the main destination for these cars, surpassing Russia, the United Arab Emirates, and the United Kingdom, where they are also popular.
However, the total number of Chinese cars imported is higher than the total number of cars sold. While there is no specific figure for the number of Chinese vehicles sold in Mexico, we can make an approximation thanks to data from INEGI (the Mexican National Institute of Statistics and Geography).
According to the Institute, 306,349 Chinese cars were sold in the twelve months of 2025, but this number does not include sales from BYD, Chirey, and importers like Bestune (who do not report), while Geely’s figures are partial because they only began submitting data at the end of the year. Nevertheless, it is estimated that BYD sold 76,000 cars in 2025, and, being generous, we can add another 24,000 from the other brands, which brings the total to approximately 100,000 Chinese cars.
In total, 406,349 Chinese cars were sold in Mexico during 2025. If the official figure from China is over 600 imported cars, this means that 217,838 vehicles were already in Mexico for sale in 2026, which were not subject to the 50% tariff.
To put this in context, in 2025 Nissan Mexicana was the best-selling brand, moving 274,461 cars nationwide. That said, a volume of over 200,000 cars would help several Chinese brands maintain competitive prices during at least the first half of the year.
Although we don’t know exactly which manufacturers anticipated the tariff, it’s noteworthy that there haven’t been significant price increases for these vehicles yet, and the Chevrolet Aveo has even just dropped in price, falling below its launch price a few years ago.
Unfortunately, there is currently no data indicating the status of imports from China, but it is a fact that ports continue to receive cars from that country. While data shows that Gulf ports are receiving more cars than Pacific ports, no Chinese manufacturer is going to completely halt operations. The question is what will happen in the medium term: will brands sacrifice profit and profitability to maintain strong sales, or will the tariffs ultimately take effect, raising prices and leading to a decrease in sales figures?
Source: motorpasion
