Made-in-China Chevys for $17,000 Are Winning Fans in Mexico

Mint

17-07-2025

Uber driver Patricia Gatica looked no further than her nearby Chevrolet dealership for a new car. The mustard yellow Chevy Aveo she chose is small enough to squeeze through the congested streets of Mexico City and it gets a very respectable 48 miles per gallon.
Best of all, with a price tag of about $17,000, the General Motors Co. subcompact is very, very affordable. The secret: The American-branded car sold in Mexico is actually made in China, where cheaper labor and component costs allow companies to churn out less expensive cars.
'When I saw it on the street, I immediately fell in love with it,' said Gatica, 27. 'It doesn't have a big trunk, but it's very sporty, which I like.'
Right now, her Chinese-made car is only available outside of the US. But with prices starting below $18,000, the Aveo and similar Chevy Onix subcompact sedans show how much cheaper cars can be in a market that welcomes vehicles built in China. In the US, the average new car price has soared to almost $49,000, compared with about $32,000 in Mexico, according to the country's automotive dealers association, AMDA.
GM's lowest-cost car in the US, the Chevy Trax, starts at around $5,000 more than an Aveo sold in Mexico — and that's for a bare bones version; It typically sells for thousands of dollars more with popular options like heated seats and remote ignition.
About 65% of GM's sales in Mexico are brought in from China, totaling some 60,942 vehicles in the first half of the year, according to Mexican national statistics bureau Inegi. Overall, Chinese car imports by all brands made up almost one-fifth of total new car sales in Mexico last year, outpacing shipments from the US, Brazil, India and Japan.
The number is probably even higher as some Chinese brands like BYD Co., Geely Automotive Holdings and Guangzhou Automobile Group don't report their data to Inegi. Mexico became the biggest destination for Chinese cars in the world in the first four months of the year, having overtaken Russia, according to the China Passenger Car Association.
'The Chinese automotive industry has a production capacity on a scale superior to that of competitors in other regions, and this gives them a competitive advantage,' said Guillermo Rosales, president of auto association AMDA. Mexico's policy of welcoming Chinese cars has helped drive down prices, he noted.
The Aveo was sold in the US from 2004 until 2011, debuting as a budget model made in South Korea by onetime partner Daewoo. GM replaced it with the US-made Chevy Sonic, but that was phased out in 2020. Other subcompacts faced similar fates due to waning demand from American buyers and cheap gas prices. Toyota stopped sales of its Yaris and Honda discontinued the Fit.
That happened just as US sticker prices began to creep steadily higher with the onset of the pandemic, constrained vehicle production and inflationary pressures. Since then, average transaction prices for new cars have increased by nearly 23%, according to Kelley Blue Book data.
Meanwhile, GM rebooted the Aveo nameplate in Mexico a few years ago, re-badging a vehicle made in a joint venture with Chinese local partners Shanghai Automotive Industry Corp. and Wuling Motors Holding. Shrinking profit margins, price wars and overcapacity in China led GM to send more of its production to other markets like Mexico, helping to grow sales and play into Beijing's broader export push.
The carmaker's sales of China-made vehicles in Mexico have accelerated over the past eight years. Between 2016 and 2024, they grew nearly 200 times. That resulted in part from a $5 billion investment in 2015 with its state-owned partner SAIC, which was used to create a family of compact models used to boost sales in China and other markets like Mexico.GM says it offers vehicles based on customer preferences and conditions that are sourced from multiple locations, including the US and China.'Our comprehensive portfolio in Mexico provides choices across different segments and price points to respond to different customer needs and lifestyles,' the company said in an emailed statement.
A global automaker like GM has a tricky balance among its various operations in China, Mexico and the US.
The Detroit-based car manufacturer wants to stay on good terms with Beijing by keeping factories there humming and fully employed — even if it means relying on exports to do so. A separate, domestic market-focused joint venture with SAIC is up for renewal next year and its fate has yet to be decided. If the partnership changes or is discontinued, that could leave the export-oriented partnership as the anchor of GM's China strategy.
For years, GM has imported a Chinese-made Buick model to the US called the Envision. A handful of other Chinese-made cars are still sold in the US — mostly luxury SUV models like Ford's Lincoln Nautilus and Volvo's S90.
But the environment for imports from China has grown harsher in recent years. Former President Joe Biden added a 100% duty on Chinese EVs and banned most cars with software developed in China. And in his second term, Trump has threatened to hike tariffs on Chinese imports to as high as 145%.
At the same time, Mexico is under pressure from US policymakers and some members of Mexico's auto industry to raise barriers to its own Chinese vehicle imports, which already face tariffs of as much as 20%. Some want to see that increased, possibly as part of an ongoing review of a North American trade pact known as USMCA.
Amid the trade policy uncertainty, Mexican retail conglomerate Liverpool Mexico SA de CV canceled its distribution contract with BYD in June after selling a little under 10% of its volume in Mexico last year. Liverpool representative Nidia Ivana Garrido Mota said the company plans to 'continue focusing on our main business areas' and will not replace BYD with another car brand.
Some aren't concerned Chinese cars will lose their foothold in the country. They note companies like BYD have competitive offers and financing, blunting the impact of tariffs.
'The Chinese vehicles that have arrived are here to stay,' said César Fragozo, executive vice-president of the China Chamber in Mexico.
GM Dealers in Mexico say the Aveo is one of their most popular models, balancing out vehicles at the other end of the price spectrum like the $106,000 Chevy Suburban SUV.
'The Aveo is a very sporty and popular car, people tend to be surprised by how affordable it is,' said Guillermina González, a sales representative at a showroom in Mexico City. 'So as long as the car is made by GM, there is no concern about where it comes from.'
GM's strong reputation in Mexico transcends concerns about where its cars are made, said Gabriela Juárez, 49, a Mexico City shopkeeper who bought an Aveo last year with her husband.
'We prefer Chevrolet because it's a well regarded brand,' she said.
This article was generated from an automated news agency feed without modifications to text.