Chocolate Car Regularization Extension Sparks Concern AMDA

The regularization program for used foreign vehicles, known as "chocolate cars," has been extended until Oct. 1, 2024, as announced by President Andrés Manuel López Obrador in his daily morning conference. This extension, the longest since its inception in March 2022, has raised concerns within the automotive industry. 

Guillermo Rosales, Executive President, AMDA, expressed strong reservations about the program’s efficacy, noting that its two-year duration has proven inadequate for formalizing all contraband vehicles entering through the Northern Border.

According to Rosales, the prolonged regularization inadvertently benefits criminal organizations involved in the illegal transportation and commercialization of these vehicles. He also criticized the perceived complicity of various levels of government in facilitating the entry and evasion of these vehicles, highlighting what he views as systemic failures within the program. 

"This not only continues the decree that regularizes automotive scrap but extends it for seven more months, once again demonstrating its failure. Two years have not been enough to formalize all contraband vehicles entering through the northern border, benefiting mafias that control their transportation and commercialization, along with the complicity of authorities," said Rosales.

Rosa Icela Rodríguez, Ministry of Security and Citizen Protection, reported that over 2 million chocolate vehicles have been regularized from Mar. 2, 2022, to Mar. 6, 2024, with Tamaulipas, Chihuahua, and Baja California accounting for over 50% of the total.

Rosales emphasized the indirect impact of this program on the domestic market, citing a reduction of up to 20% or more in prices of domestically used vehicles of the similar make and model to those being regularized. This, he argued, disrupts the natural vehicle renewal cycle and undermines the competitiveness of legally imported vehicles.

Additionally, Rosales raised concerns about the diversion of resources from the Public Vehicle Registry (REPUVE), responsible for overseeing the regularization process, which he believes compromises the integrity of vehicle registration and verification procedures.

"We hope that all presidential candidates consider the modernization of this institute, making the necessary investments for its secure operation. This would genuinely provide Mexicans with confidence in the legal status of their vehicles, rather than an endless regularization," added Rosales.