Foreign Affairs Working on Transportation Electrification

Climate change has created the urgency to reduce emissions, which has led companies and governments to join efforts in the electrification of processes that traditionally relied on fossil fuels. Within this context, Mexico’s Ministry of Foreign Affairs (SRE) is working on an initiative to develop cross-border electric transportation capabilities and create closer ties between Mexico and the US. The initiative aims to gather resources from three key players: governments, the industrial sector and academic institutions from both sides of the border. 

On Aug. 1, 2022, the second stage of the US-Mexico Task Force for the Electrification of Transportation, an initiative developed by SRE’s Undersecretary for Multilateral Issues and Human Rights (SAMDH) and Alianza MX, an initiative from the University of California, aims to develop the transition toward electromobility in the region. The second stage is taking place in Mexico and focuses on creating recommendations regarding the obstacles identified during the first stage of the initiative. 

Members of the initiative will follow a plan consisting of two parts: the first will provide a diagnosis of the global and regional energy transition, as well as highlight the opportunities for both Mexico and the US in the industry. The second will generate recommendations regarding the content created during the first part. Experts at the University of California will develop the content of the project within a year. 

On Feb. 8, 2022, SRE presented the initiative and from May 2022, it started meetings for working groups regarding innovation, supplier development, infrastructure, governance and human capital. 

Even though Mexico is one of the largest car manufacturing countries in the world, it does not rank among the leading countries regarding electrification like the US does owing to its government stimuli, said Alberto Bustamante, Director General, National Industry of Autoparts (INA), who added that one of the main challenges for the electrification of the automotive industry is the lack of infrastructure. He argued that Mexico needs to invest in “green infrastructure” such as charging stations so that half of its commercial cars have zero emissions by 2030. 

Regarding public transportation, Mexico City stands out for its focus on electric infrastructure, like the plan to fully electrify Metrobus’ Line 3 or the acquisition of six electric units for the light rail system. Mexico city’s government has also offered its help to share its experience gained during the electrification of the Metrobus system with the government of Yucatan, which is considering implementing a similar network.