Answering these types of queries has become complex even for specialists in the sector. Mexico does not have a regulation that requires brands or importers to guarantee the availability of auto parts, service or documentary support for a minimum period, leaving the responsibility in the hands of each importer. When they leave the country without a continuity plan, the burden falls entirely on the consumer.

An open market without safeguards

Armando Soto, CEO of Kaso y Asociados, explains that the current situation is a product of the way the market has opened in recent years. “Unfortunately, cases like this are a consequence of this indiscriminate opening of Chinese brands that arrived in the country.”

Some of them, he says, built distribution networks and auto parts centers, but there were also importers who had no automotive experience. SEV, for example, was the electromobility arm of Grupo Solarever, a company focused on the production, sale and distribution of solar panels.

The company even promised a production base in Mexico. At the beginning of 2024, it announced a plant in Durango to carry out the final assembly of some of the models it sold in the country, a project that contemplated an investment of 6.8 billion pesos.

The problem, Soto points out, is that there were no regulatory safeguards that required guaranteeing the continuity of the service. The country had already experienced a precedent with the withdrawal of FAW after its alliance with Grupo Salinas. In that case, the service was channeled to some independent workshops, but spare parts began to become scarce.

According to Soto, in these voids black markets arise from importers who brought those parts, a phenomenon that increases risks and leaves vehicles circulating in inadequate conditions.

Read more: What happened to the 5,000 FAW cars sold in Elektra stores in 2008?

Given the impossibility of obtaining documents from defunct agencies, an alternative could come from external entities. “Perhaps an accreditation entity could certify the proper functioning of the electric vehicle for future renewals of holograms or green plates,” in reference to organizations that could technically evaluate vehicles when the support of a brand no longer exists.

A more difficult environment with new tariffs

The scenario could get even tougher due to trade policy. The Ministry of Economy analyzes the imposition of a tariff of up to 50% on vehicles from countries with which Mexico does not have a free trade agreement. The measure would immediately make models imported from China more expensive and would put pressure on projects that only operate as importers, forcing them to rethink prices, volumes and viability in the country.

Soto anticipates that, with this additional pressure, there will be movements in the market. “I think that we are going to see a reconfiguration, it is a fact. With high tariffs, the least competitive models would be the first to leave,” he says.

Competitive pressure, lack of scale and the absence of direct corporate support from China make it difficult for smaller projects to survive. According to Soto, brands with a global structure in Mexico – such as those of the BYD, MG or GWM group – will be able to sustain operations, but independent importers may not overcome a more demanding environment.

On the other hand, there is a possibility that brands that were considering entering the country will finally decide not to do so. There is already history. Neta, a Chinese electric vehicle startup, pre-launched in 2024, opening an office and hiring staff, but backed off before the official launch. The company ended up closing its facilities and liquidating its team at the end of last year.

Some competitors have warned about the reputational effect that this new wave of departures could have. Isidoro Massri, director of JAC in Mexico, has pointed out in multiple spaces that each abrupt withdrawal revives the stigma that FAW left in the past and complicates the efforts of established Chinese brands to build trust.

For players who have invested in distribution networks, after-sales and local presence, the departure of small or poorly structured importers generates an indirect impact on consumer perception, which once again questions the permanence and real support of any project from China.

While the market is refined, consumers are trapped between delayed procedures, difficult-to-find spare parts and vehicles whose electrical certification cannot be endorsed by anyone. The silent exit of some Chinese brands reveals a greater risk: without clear rules, the cost of disorder falls on those who have already purchased a vehicle and now navigate without guidance in a market where the opening was rapid, but consumer protection advances slowly.