Transformation, transparency and trust in Mexico’s automotive supply chain

Mexico has distinct advantages for automotive manufacturing and supply both in terms of geography and car sector’s history there. It obviously borders the US across which the majority of its automotive volumes are exchanged by both truck and rail, but also has well-developed port infrastructure for both inbound and outbound parts and finished vehicle shipments, both shortsea to the US and Canada, and for global overseas markets. That is supported by 13 different international free trade agreements, which is more than any other nation globally. 

In terms of supply chain integration across North America, there is a history of trade regulation, from the original North America Free Trade Agreement (Nafta) signed back in 1992 to its replacement by the US-Mexico-Canada agreement (USMCA) first signed in 2018 (revised in 2020).

Over the years Mexico has developed a high standard of talent that is competitive on cost, despite more recent rises in the living wage. These factors continue and make Mexico a strategic place for the automotive supply chain. Last year Mexico became the fourth biggest vehicle exporter globally, with 3.9m light vehicles exported. The US, Canada and Germany are the three biggest export markets. 

However, not all of Mexico’s advantages are guaranteed permanence and there have been various disruptions since 2020 that are exercising the resilience of the carmakers well established there, as well as testing those with an eye on localising production for the future. That is leading some of the biggest carmakers to look at remodelling their supply chains in collaboration with suppliers and logistics service providers.

Priorities in Puebla

Volkswagen has been making cars at its Puebla plant in 1964 and last year passed the cumulative production milestone of 40m units. Across 2024 VW made just over 382,000 vehicles, including the Jetta, Tiguan (long version) and Taos (see boxout below on the return of Golf production to Mexico in 2027). The carmaker also has an engine plant in Silao with daily production capacity for 2,500 engines. VW has a significant market share in Mexico compared to the US and Canada, including the fact that most of its suppliers for North America products are based in Mexico (though VW sells more vehicles in those neighbouring North American markets than it does in Mexico). 

VW de México’s Peter Koltai, senior director of production control, logistics, said that the automotive industry in Mexico is geared towards efficiency in managing complex customs and being compliant with trade regulations, with a heavy reliance put on punctual ocean freight deliveries. However, since the Covid pandemic in 2020 and subsequent disruptions to the supply chain, carmakers have prioritised cost savings and lean operations at the expense of resilience and flexibility.

“Before these global crises the whole logistics strategy was built around efficiency and cost optimisation, and globalisation was a huge advantage,” said Koltai. “We were pushing very strongly in JIT manufacturing, we had tiered supplier networks, and we were sourcing many times from low-cost countries.” 

With regard to logistics partners Koltai pointed to stability in port operations, mainly at Veracruz, where it receives its biggest volumes of parts from overseas. He also pointed to trucking companies and providers of contract logistics. In both cases open communication and trust building are extremely important so that together VW and its LSPs can reach quickly if there is any deviation from the normal process. 

Every carmaker has had its own responses to the disruption since 2020, but VW is now focusing on resilience over efficiency by moving to a more regionalised supply chain and the ‘old-fashioned’ strategy of increasing safety stocks. Vessel delays from South America of up to four weeks led to critical shortages of parts last year, according to Koltai. “We had to redesign many of our supply chains and we had to cover all the risks with a much higher safety stock,” he said.

Added to which, schedule mismatches on vessels coming from Europe to Mexico affected timing and changed inbound port locations.

“Instead of arriving one after the other, as they were sent out from the European port, we received them in different time slots and also at different ports, not where we were counting on them arriving.” 

Daily risk assessment

VW is now prioritising supplier visibility to ascertain quickly whether that supplier can deliver what is needed, when it is needed. The carmaker is looking at supplier data on a day-to-day basis to see if there are any imminent risks to supply, with automatic alerts in place if a truck is delayed or there is a supplier backlog. 

According to Koltai, logistics meets with quality assurance and with the purchasing department every morning to look at each situation together and decide at which supplier VW de México needs to more closely monitor performance. The carmaker is also using AI to gather past data and predict what could be the impact of an event on the Puebla factory and acting to compensate in advance. One contingency in place is dual sourcing and VW is ready to resort to sourcing supplies from Europe if a shortfall is expected from a Mexican supplier. Koltai acknowledged the increased cost of doing so but said there was now a greater importance on resilience for the future. 

Koltai also said that the option for dual sourcing has put more focus on transport services and brought the importance of those contracts in overall optimisation for the supply chain up to the same level as control and continuous improvement. VW is now carrying out more detailed analysis to optimise available transport services while maintaining the same cost for the overall operation. According to Koltai, that is only possible with skilled and motivated people with the right mindset in place.

David Resetar, executive vice-president and global vertical lead – automotive, at global logistics provider DSV, said his company was ready to help with dual sourcing. As one of the world’s biggest forwarders, DSV is ready to use its global network to help OEM customers with their lanes, according to Resetar. 

“We're trying to locate our support and our operations close to [the OEM],” he said pointing to the fact DSV supports VW’s plant in Puebla from its control tower there.

Resetar said that with 80% of Mexican automotive output currently going to the US, it was time for greater market diversity for Mexican vehicle and parts makers, including VW. 

“I think they need to find other markets… and that's where DSV can help because we can give them ways to explore and develop other ways to export their materials. Dual sourcing is one way DSV can really help.” 

Inbound complexity

Inbound raw material and component supply is also an issue for BMW’s plant in San Luis Potosí, which makes the Series 2 coupé, Series 3 sedan and M2 for the global market. Raúl Gamboa, head of logistics, production control and production systems at the plant, said volatility and flexibility are things that BMW cannot change but must learn to cope with. 

Specific to Mexico, BMW has 250 local suppliers that not only supply San Luis Potosi, but also supply the Spartanburg plant in the US, one of its biggest plants out of 30 globally. Mexico also supplies BMW Group plants such as Mini and Rolls Royce in the UK. Gamboa said that the maturity and the supplier base located in Mexico is very important for the global network. 

For North American parts movements, there are challenges in complying with the USMCA, which has been further complicated in 2025. 

Gamboa highlighted the complexity of BMW’s production and its supply chain for inbound parts to Mexico, where 60% of parts are coming from overseas, while 40% are sourced in North America. BMW offers the customer base 10 billion variants on vehicle configuration from which to choose, with some options available as close as 7.5 days before the car is built, which makes the supply of parts to the line a critical operation. 

“We have just-in-time and just-in-sequence processes that enable us to comply with these requirements, including deliveries as close as two hours before the assembly of the car,” he said. 

BMW is remodelling its supply chain to help broaden the portfolio of products it makes in terms of powertrain type while working on greater resilience and diversity in its supplier base. It is also looking for greater collaboration with its logistics providers, with an eye on flexibility. 

Transparency and trust

The same is true at Stellantis, which has grown its purchasing of parts from Mexico for North American production from 20% to 50%. However, the carmaker now has to bridge the gap in Mexico for electronic parts, for which it is currently still relying on sourcing from Asia.

Evelin Nava Cataldi, purchasing and supplier quality director, Stellantis Mexico, said that that Mexico is important because it is a cost-competitive manufacturing location that guarantees quality and it has the ability to deliver thanks to strong logistics support. However, 10% of the components it is sourcing for production from Mexico are non-compliant with the USMCA rules on content, including electronics, and the carmaker is in discussions with suppliers to locate locally. While it will take “a lot of time, money and knowhow” to set up a production base in Mexico for these parts, Stellantis is looking more closely at its supply chain from tier one to tier n to see which other components are compliant or not with USMCA rules on content and where their constituent parts are sourced. This has been a blind spot in the past, according to Nava, but she said that Stellantis is now working closely with all of its suppliers to make part content transparent. It also has to look into what is being assembled Mexico and from where the constituents are sourced. With that information the carmaker can focus on what to localise. 

“Last year again when we were growing in Mexico like crazy, we had a lot of conversations with global suppliers that are working currently with our plants in Europe or in Asia Pacific about bringing that technology to Mexico.” 

Nava said that is likely in the coming months as the company has a better understanding of the revised USMCA rules on content. Stellantis is continuing the discussions with suppliers to bring them to Mexico and build a supply chain community. 

Alongside that, carmakers need to look at supplier development in Mexico and bring suppliers based there up to the standard required for exacting OEM contracts, which currently a lot of them do not find it easy to do. Nava said the OEMs needs to collaborate to nurture the smaller tier suppliers in Mexico. 

“We just have to find the right suppliers to grow our supply base and we need to find collaboration with other tier suppliers and local authorities,” she said. 

Local authorities are looking for nearshoring activity and Stellantis needs to culture incentives and investment by connecting the local authorities and the suppliers. In the meantime, Stellantis is focusing on the strengths in the Mexican supplier base and Nava pointed to one supplier – Metalsa – which makes vehicle body frames and subframes, as well as stamped, roll-formed and hydroformed components. 

Mapping the materials

GM is also intent on gaining better transparency in its supplier network to gain more control of the supply chain and thereby make it more resilient and adaptable. Mónica García, director global purchasing and supply chain at GM México said that a key enabler in making the supply chain more transparent is end-to-end supply chain mapping own to tier n level, including raw materials and rare earth minerals which were previously invisible to the company. García said that gaining supply chain transparency is essential in identifying vulnerabilities and reducing risk. 

GM is investing in mapping technologies to gain this transparency and control. It launched a monitoring platform in 2022 that continues to help it protect the supply chain thanks to the participation of suppliers on it. García said the platform enables it to map the entirety of the supply chain, which is not an easy task but a necessary one.

“Sometimes we find that there are some components and materials that we didn't even know were part of the supply chain until they became a problem and then it becomes a need to integrate it,” she said. 

It is a learning curve for GM and it suppliers and GM is providing comprehensive training and digital tooling to its suppliers and the two-way communication established has enabled it to act quickly and support those suppliers when issues arise.

They need access to all of the information and while we know this is not easy, it is a key component to rely on the mapping,” said García. “This a critical component that I think we made possible through the strong relationship and continued communication we have with our suppliers.” 

The carmaker has 650 tier one suppliers in Mexico and the country is its second largest source of parts globally. It is a strong foundation for GM’s supply chain but there are more opportunities to strengthen the network and GM is encouraging suppliers to integrate there.

“Nearshoring and localisation have significantly reshaped the supply chain and Mexico has emerged a strategic anchor in this transformation,” said García. “The supplier ecosystem is evolving, becoming more capable, more connected and aligned with our main strategies around quality technology and sustainability.” 

García said that GM has adapted its sourcing strategy in Mexico to become more agile and achieve a regional balance for long-term competitiveness in North America more widely.

Digital tools

The requirement for resilience based on greater transparency on cross-border movements goes for both Mexico-US shipments and import/export overseas, something BMW is supporting with innovation and digital tools designed around concrete operational problems.

Those tools include an export app developed in-house by its own logistics engineers that provides full transparency on parts shipments across the border with the US. The app is helping BMW make decisions that are reducing up to 95% the necessity to expedite material because of a lack of capacity on the ground, documentation mismatches or unreliable cross-border processing. 

BMW has improved communication between its different partners, including tier one suppliers, carriers, custom brokers and planners at the San Luis Potosí plant to make the whole inbound parts delivery process more convenient. “Before the truck leaves the supplier we know what the challenges will be and can plan for them in advance so the truck crosses the border in an efficient manner,” said Gamboa. 

The carmaker also has a supply chain and overseas digital platform that provides 85% of traceability and visibility on all overseas supply. 

“We are able to make decisions to avoid, for example, the necessity of airfreight coming from Europe,” said Gamboa. “That has a huge impact on cost efficiency. Nowadays, we have 100% of real-time updates on what is happening in our supply chain.”

He added that the newest version of platform has a bot that gives real-time recommendations to planners so they know exactly what to do to avoid any disruption to operations at the San Luis Potosí plant. 

BMW is also looking to increase cross-border corridors as well as those within Mexico to avoid bottlenecks on inbound parts, as well as looking for inventory stock efficiency in alignment with its production concept. The fact that it brings so many parts from overseas makes it difficult and cost wise it will be a challenge to have a high amount of inventory at its plants. Therefore, the company has to think about the coverage required to supply its production lines. 

BMW is also intent on keeping its logistics providers in the loop and sharing intelligence on requirements and innovation. 

“They bring their ideas, we evaluate them together and basically we identify the way that we can do it in a parallel phase,” he said.

The carmaker and its LSPs have several strategies in play at the moment and are working on greater localisation but currently BMW is still dependent for a large part on the supply of parts from overseas. “For that we need to… make sure that we bring all these components in at the most optimal cost and certainly afterwards to deliver those vehicles to the final markets as well in the most optimal way,” said Gamboa. 

Rules and regulations

Automotive companies and their logistics providers are also having to adjust to regulations affecting cross-border logistics and transport in Mexico. Victor Salazar, chief operations officer at Trayecto, Mexico’s largest freight transport provider, pointed to the Carta Porte bill of lading document, which provides detailed information on goods being shipped, including point of origin, destination and transport information. The document became mandatory in 2022 and the most recent update (Complemento Carta Porte 3.0) more strictly enforces rules for carriers requiring additional detail on goods, routes, and vehicles to reduce tax evasion, and increase supply chain transparency. As of 2025 customs brokers and importers will share joint liability for incorrect declarations, meaning brokers are more responsible for the accuracy of duty and tax determinations. 

“We have seen with more frequency at the checkpoints that the Mexican Tax Administration [SAT] are really going deep into verifying that the cargo really matches what the documentation shows, and if that doesn't match, you are in trouble right now,” said Salazar.

He said that more investment is being put into these inspections, including for more staff and technology, and the process of passing customs is expected to require more time. With punctuality already a challenge, especially at the ports, the additional scrutiny on bill of lading means OEMs and logistics providers will have to be aware of the overall impact on delivery times and reliability of ETAs. 

Salazar also pointed to the 2026 Economic Package, known as Valisallo, which includes increased import tariffs on many goods from countries without FTAs with Mexico and stricter enforcement against tax evasion. The reforms aim to boost domestic industry by increasing tariffs on items from non-FTA countries and provide new digital tools to combat smuggling. 

Augustin Sustaita, chief commercial officer at D-Troy Logistics, outlined how his company has been expanding the services it offers to support its OEM customers in dealing with more complex import export processes. That includes developing AI tools to provide more accurate data.

“If there's something that is missing or different than what the SAT is requesting, we're going to have a problem, so how can we support that part of the process?” he asked. The answer is to have as accurate information as possible, which is what D-Troy has been working on over the past couple of years.

“All this is implemented or executed on a daily basis so that we can track all the movements taking place and we can have compound solutions going on a regular basis,” said Sustaina. “[It provides for a] reliable service so that everything is moving smoothly and we are all complying to what the authorities are requesting.” 

Cross border complexity

For GM, adapting processes and strategies for compliant and efficient supply chains in and out of Mexico is fraught with complexity. Giovani Bravo Vanegas, head of customs compliance, GM de México, said that there were a number of factors that OEMs now had to consider when planning cross-border flows, including the increase in parts volume flows within existing infrastructure and technology, the impact of tariffs, and increased inspections on consignments being shipped beyond normal customs requirements purposes.

“There are inspections now not only for customs and trade purposes but also in terms of security, migration and many other security topics and this has made it more complex, at times adding stress to our day-to-day flows,” he said.

Bravo pointed to the importance of track and trace on products that may incur different duties based on where they originated before shipping into Mexico. 

Close communication and alignment with service partners is important in ensuring parts shipments remain timely without excessive cost. That alignment is also important with regard to making supply chains more agile.

D-Troy’s Sustaina said that time consuming delays at the border can be mitigated by such initiatives between the US and Mexico as the Unified Cargo Processing programme streamline cargo inspections at the border, reducing wait times and costs. UCP allows customs officers from both countries to jointly inspect and process shipments, often at a single facility. 

However, it is also important for the carrier that is part of the process to look at how they can be more proactive in addressing the technical processes and requirements involved.

“We need to look at how can we support that by developing tools that, at the end of the day, will help us as well, by making gains in the productivity of the trucks and trailers,” said Sustaina. “The way that we have to see this is as an opportunity to collaborate… and reduce longer processing times for everyone; it's a win-win situation at the end.” 

GM’s Bravo said that tariffs were reshaping logistics. Cost was not a limitation to border crossings when customs duties were zero but that is not the case anymore and additional payments have to be made at every crossing. For GM that means reviewing the location of distribution centres and warehouses. 

“I think it is an important point to… utilise some additional benefits or instruments that avoid these physical crossing flows,” said Bravo. “For instance, we have, ‘virtual entries’, meaning we are not moving physically but just administratively speaking.

Bravo said GM is working with logistics and transport partners on alternatives like this, to reduce cost, to expedite shipments and be more efficient in the currently complexity.

“Unfortunately, we cannot change it but at the same time we are the people working on supply chain and we are used to dealing with uncertainty a lot,” he said. It is something that we are trying to embrace and to move forward.” 

Cross-border certification

Trade certification is another avenue GM is exploring to get more leverage on the benefits granted on both sides of the border, according to Bravo. He pointed to the CTPAT programme in the US) – equivalent to the global Authorized Economic Operator programme, which certifies companies with secure supply chains to facilitate international trade (Operador Económico Autorizado in Mexico).

“I think we have to leverage this more, especially because this [volatile trade] is a new normal reality that is coming and in my opinion will stay here for the medium term at least,” said Bravo. “Leveraging from these programmes and streamlining communication with all actors over the supply chain is definitely an important point to deal with this complexity.” 

Running an internal audit on the impact of cross-border customs processes on operations will give a company an accurate picture how prepared it is to deal with them going forward according to Jeber Nava Martínez, head of customs for Latin America at Aumovio, the former Automotive division on tier supplier Continental, which was spun off in September this year. 

“If you are not prepared, it is urgent you find a trade service provider that can help you in case of an audit,” he said. “It’s urgent because it aligns with the SAT plan and customs is totally related to tax collection so they will be visiting you at some point of the next year, that's for sure."

SAT will be looking at a range of things including compliance with Mexico’s duty-free rules on temporary imports – the Manufacturing, Maquila and Export Services Industries Program (Immex) – as well as VAT certification, Carta Porte and virtual entries. 

Mónica García at GM said that the Immex rule was important in controlling cost and keeping suppliers competitive at a time when Mexico is proposing tariffs on countries that it does not have FTAs with. 

“I lead a supplier council in Mexico and this topic is a top priority on the agenda because it is becoming more critical,” she said. “The message that I always share with my suppliers is that, now more than ever, companies need to have a robust and strong customs department and international trade department.” 

Those departments need to ensure that their company is in compliance with the tariffs and are properly certified. García said that it is important to keep customs colleagues close but she warned that a lot of suppliers do not have robust customs departments and rely on outside sources that often do not have experience in the automotive industry and may be giving the best advice. “This is critical and GM is taking measures to share this expertise with our suppliers,” she said.