I went to Mexico to test-drive the cars Americans can’t buy

bookofjoe

https://wapo.st/4dZMFUo

UI_at_80x24

I noticed that when I was there. I was pleasantly surprised to see as many BYD as I did. That infact made me consider BYD even more seriously. Being able to see the car in person is far more impressive the a YouTube video.

mzajc

https://archive.ph/sGqBh

gourneau

Is there any reasonable cost-effective way to import these into the USA? Or is that path blocked due to regulatory safety things?

petcat

USA bans the onboard Chinese automotive software for national security reasons, effectively banning Chinese cars. For all the talk about data and technology sovereignty in Europe about USA tech, you would think they would take that more seriously too. Instead Europe is flooded with underpriced Chinese cars that they have no control over.

brcmthrowaway

OT but I'm in the market for a hybrid compact SUV.. anything good? Kia?

lysace

I was curious, so I looked it up: 75% of electricity generation in Mexico comes from fossil fuels, mostly methane/etc gas. https://www.iea.org/countries/mexico/electricity

haunter

I live in Europe: My only “concern” about chinese cars (and I don’t mean chinese as in Volvo) that I am not sure you will get parts and service in 10 or 15 years. More than 500 unique models were released in the first 6 months of 2026 alone [0]. It’s like the wild west of Android phones 10-15 years ago. Brands you never heared about, never updated Android versions etc 0, https://www.carscoops.com/2026/08/chinese-automakers-lauchin...

unethical_ban

It would be extraordinarily simple to remedy this: Require by law the technical ability to physically disable all remote communication to and from a vehicle, and prohibit any remote communication requirement from the core functions of a vehicle. An operator should be able to use their vehicle with zero remote software use. No smartphone requirement, no onboard radio requirement. This may mean that certain features like FSD or navigation tools are disabled for safety reasons, but there are plenty of useful safety features that do not require live updates. From a privacy and utility perspective, this is a no-brainer. Second, as a software security layperson, I think this would largely eliminate any "sleeper cyber sabotage" security concerns that are cited for prohibiting Chinese vehicles. --- Given how obvious this seems to me, I'm confident that we're really banning Chinese EVs for economic reasons.

Hugada

Just to add a different perspective. As a mexican, I often wonder how the future will look like for those cars in terms of repairability. I don't think lots of people are really pondering wether the car company will be here long enough to provide a reasonable amount of support for the niche technical issues that will arise. Most here might assume I'm talking about BYD, and although they are the main brand as far as I can see, Google lists more than 25 chinese car brands currently available in Mexico. I believe the future of that will be a lot of e-waste and problems for the electrical grid.

rajman187

The Chinese have certainly taken over far more than just the Mexican market. You'll hardly see a Tesla in London these days, and while Toyotas were selling like hot cakes in Pakistan the dealerships have gotten huge waitlists for the Chinese ones now. As others have mentioned, the jury is still out on reliability and longevity. I can confidently assume a Toyota from 1993 is still just being broken in at 150K miles, no clue if the same can be said about these with all the varieties and electronic components. If they do one day come the American shores, I assume that's the end of US car manufacturers.

jcomp

Mexico is more broadly a showroom for all sorts of vehicles you can't buy in the US, namely those that don't meet US safety or emissions requirements. The Hilux being the notable example, though not covered in the below link. https://www.jalopnik.com/the-coolest-non-us-cars-americans-c...

gchamonlive

I see these comments a about future repairability and I wonder if Americans had the same general wary feeling when adopting Tesla cars.

paxy

People make a fuss about China unfairly subsidizing its auto industry but this is exactly how subsidies should work. USA meanwhile has spent over $120 billion to prop up its own auto companies over the last two decades and has nothing to show for it except some very rich executives, and that is considered rugged capitalism at work.

chinesedriver

Submarine. China desperate to find a market for these dubious vehicles because domestic economy and market in very bad shape right now and getting worse.

danans

I noticed the same in India not long ago. Unlike in the US, there is broad cultural aspiration toward electric vehicles. Even tuk-tuk/rickshaw drivers (who are largely lower income) have EV choices, while in the US lower income workers - like rideshare drivers - don't have many cheaper electric options, since EVs are mostly priced for upper income people. It doesn't hurt that India has to import the vast majority of the petroleum it uses, and has unlimited solar resources.

throw867

Europe preaches about human rights but no problem doing business with China

xrd

Does anyone know if you can buy one in Mexico and drive it across the border? I imagine it is very complicated to own it long term in the US. But if it were legally registered in Mexico, could you drive it in the US for a period of time?

j45

It's hard to imagine some times, but a lot of places in their own ways outside of North America are in the future.

yieldcrv

BYD cars were my biggest tourist attraction on my last trip to Mexico, it was what I was looking forward to seeing the most, as soon as I got out the airport and saw taxis using them