General Motors has raised concerns over a new renewable energy proposal in Mexico that would give priority to the state-run power utility over private players.
GM Mexico headquarters
General Motors Mexico CEO Francisco Garza participated in a panel in Mexico City last week addressing the energy proposal, Reuters reports, with Garza expressing concerns that the law would prevent it from being able to invest in renewable energy sources at its automotive assembly plants.
“Unfortunately, if the conditions aren’t there, Mexico won’t be a destination for investment, because the conditions won’t be given that permit us to meet our objective of having zero emissions in the long term,” Garza said, as quoted by Reuters. “We’re evaluating that if there aren’t the conditions, that dollar that was going to be invested in Mexico will go to the United States, Brazil, China or Europe, and Mexico will no longer be a key destination.”
Under the proposal, the Mexican government would favor the state-run electric utility over private investment, particularly with regard to renewable energy. For this reason, the bill would cancel some future renewable energy investments from private foreign backers, giving priority to Mexico’s various hydro, nuclear and natural gas plants operated by the public Comision Federal de Electricidad.
GM sees implementing renewable energy at its assembly plants as a priority, with the automaker working toward a goal of producing net-zero carbon emissions company-wide by 2040. GM Mexico spokesperson Teresa Cid later told Reuters the automaker was not threatening to leave Mexico over the renewable energy proposal, but that the automaker would remain focused on its goal of eliminating carbon emissions from its operations.
“GM must meet its (zero emissions) vision and we must follow that path,” Cid said. “So that’s where the risk would be.”
GM previously laid out plans to invest $1 billion in its Ramos Arizpe plant to build battery-electric vehicles. Cid said that as of now, the plan to build EVs at the facility is still set to go ahead, although this may be subject to change.
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Comments
Where is Canada on this list ? GM will invest in United States, Brazil, China or Europe, and Mexico ??
We have great skilled auto workers and the quality of the finished product is among the best !!!
Send the jobs north where we are committed to zero emission vehicles !!!
Why would GM want to invest in a country with draconian lockdowns?
Have you seen Austria or Australia lately? Much more freedom for the average citizen in Putin’s Russia…
Canada is only 2 steps behind Australia in their Authoritarianism, and ‘super-compliant’ Canadians are letting them fully implement more and more horrid future plans..
A warning to us Americans.
As far as staying out of Mexico, that can only increase employment for Americans….Joe Brandon Biden is doing his part to ensure Astronomical future shipping costs to make far eastern investments unprofitable.
Yes Canada death rate per 100 000 people is very low compared to the United States. Only area where it was up was Alberta. Now they have moved to Handle their out break. In Montana ours was way down and our new republican gov. took the local control away from the local population and now our hospitals are out of room because of covid-19 and people not getting the vaccine.
Hard to do renewables in a country that some parts can’t get electric 24 hours a day.
As for Canada the high taxes, social programs, high cost of living are repelling many companies just as we are seeing in California.
Canada also has universal Medicare and about a $.77 cent dollar compared to U.S. $ fantastic facilities and a well educated work force and a almost new paint shop and EV test track at the Oshawa Assembly facility ,it is a viable option or GM wouldn’t have reopened it to build trucks only and we loaned GM #10 billion to stave off bankruptcy ,Mexico gave nothing in 2008-9 to save GM or ever !
Totally wrong, GMM was the only who was in black numbers with profits for GMNA.
Rudy maybe from very low wage rates for many years and worse working conditions at the time compared to US.and Canadian operations .GM Canada rolled big profits into Detroit too ,until our profits were buried into U.S. financial reporting and not shown separately like the previous 80 years of GMC operations as a stand alone corporation till sometime in the 1970’s in our 100 years of building GM vehicles after the McLaughlin-Buick came into being and GM formed !
Mexico struggles with relevance most of the time let alone doing something like this.
Such an empty threat from GM.
You spent how many billions of dollars shifting production away from America in a futile attempt to save $$$ then are whining that Mexico is standing in the way of your Zero Emissions virtue signaling?
Corporate America is a joke.
Build in the USA. Simple solution and eliminate all this supply chain problems from overseas. Take care of our workers.
GM needs to bring most manufacturing back to the US. Waiting 3 months for vehicles from S. Korea to arrive at the store is just crazy. All of the Silverado’s should be produced in the US not Mexico. GM needs to invest more in US Manufacturing and US Workers. They also need to start manufacturing their own semi-conductors again so this issue never rears it head again. They did at the Kokomo, Indiana Plant until the middle of 2017. I have managed & sold GM vehicles since 1987 and I am ashamed of the company today, and especially the current management. The public has lost trust in them over the current Bolt issues and they will have to buy their way back into the EV market with insane rebates to get people to forget about the GM/LG fire issues. They have already alienated some 140,000 GM EV Owners over this battery issue.