Motorcars first arrived in Mexico City in 1903. Since then, several vehicle brands have been especially successful. A number of manufacturers make vehicles in Mexico, and many brands have been and continue to be available.

History Early years (1903–1960) In 1903, motorcars first arrived in Mexico City, totaling 136 cars in that year and rising to 800 by 1906. This encouraged then president Porfirio Díaz, to create both the first Mexican highway code (which would allow cars to move at a maximum speed of 10 km/h or 6 mph on crowded or small streets and 40 km/h or 25 mph elsewhere) and, along with this, a tax for car owners which would be abolished in 1911 with Francisco I. Madero's successful campaign against Díaz's presidency at the outbreak of the Mexican Revolution. In 1910, Daimler and Renault both established small facilities for the local assembly of vehicles primarily for the Mexican government at the behest of Porfirio Díaz, but these functioned for little more than a few months before being destroyed in the Mexican Revolution. A short time after the end of the armed struggle, Buick became the first automobile producer to be officially established in Mexico, beginning in 1921. In 1925, Ford Motor Company was established and began manufacturing vehicles in the country, and, as of 2020, remains the longest-running brand in the country. In 1961, Mexico produced its first fully domestic vehicle, a small truck called the Rural Ramírez, produced by the Ramírez truck company.

Decline (1961–1993) Many car makers were already operational by 1961 when the first decline of the Mexican economy showed up. In the early 1960s, government regulations forced car companies to assemble cars in Mexico, using local as well as imported components. The idea was to develop a national car industry in the country, to promote employment and technological advances. Those companies that would not comply with these regulations left the country; these included Mercedes-Benz, FIAT, Citroën, Peugeot and Volvo. The American Big Three (General Motors, Ford and Chrysler) remained along with American Motors, Renault, Volkswagen, Datsun and Borgward.

In this same year, due to the announcement of the upcoming 1968 Summer Olympics to be held in Mexico, the Government reissued Díaz's car ownership tax, purportedly to afford the construction of new facilities for such an event; this was named the Tenencia Vehicular (from the verb tener; "to have" in Spanish). However, the tax remained to finance the 1970 FIFA World Cup, also held in Mexico. Ironically, the tax remains today in most states, and it must be paid year after year. This tax is variable depending on the car's value, number of cylinders, type of transmission, air conditioning and further features, adding up to a payment of up to 10% of the car's total value.

A second tax exists as well when purchasing a new vehicle called Impuesto sobre Automóviles Nuevos or ISAN ("Tax on new cars"), also depending on a vehicle's specifications and cost. Unlike the Tenencia, this tax is paid only once. Federal law requires all listed car prices in media or dealerships to have the standard 16% VAT tax and ISAN included in the listed price.

Since many Mexican drivers default on paying this tax, the Government started taking countermeasures. However, due to this being perceived as uncontrollable, politicians started making proposals to abolish this tax, remarkably Felipe Calderón. Tenencia has, as of 2011, only been abolished in Querétaro. On March 4, 2011, President Calderón announced Tenencia would be completely abolished by 2012 in all states, but not in the Federal District which comprises most of Mexico City.

Rebirth (1994–2006) The growth of Mexico's economy during the late '90s stimulated car sales in Mexico and, eventually, most of the retired carmakers re-established themselves in the country. Makers such as Honda and Porsche arrived for the first time during the last years of the 20th Century, and others such as Peugeot and Mercedes-Benz gave Mexico a "second chance", both re-establishing in 1997.

Annual passenger vehicle sales in Mexico reached the one million milestone in 2005. The increasing sales figures encouraged carmakers to offer cars with alternative fuels like the Honda Civic Hybrid and the Volkswagen Jetta TDI. Such cars hadn't been available in Mexico since the first diesel-powered Volkswagen Caribe in the late 70's and early 80's (see paragraphs for each maker: Honda and Volkswagen). Still, few carmakers have released their diesel-powered versions in the Mexican market due to stricter government emissions laws than those of the European Union Euro IV standard. This results in a petrol only car market in which drivers cannot reap the potential benefits of diesel automobiles. Diesel cars are not suited/permitted for everyday driving in Mexico City; brand new diesel vehicles face the "Hoy no Circula" restrictions.

Current market (2007–present)

Mexican studio Mastretta Cars first announced the creation of their MXT through Automóvil Panamericano magazine in May 2007. This vehicle is the very first Mexican sports car ever built, and features specifications similar to those of Lotus Elise and Porsche Cayman. The production of the MXT started in January 2011.

In 2010, Mexican bus maker Cimex announced that it was expanding into the passenger vehicle field and was developing a pickup truck called the Conin which would be Mexico's first domestic pickup truck when expected to enter production in 2013.

To date, 42 makers have official representation in the country with nearly 400 different models, making Mexico one of the most varied automotive markets in the world.

The automotive sector accounts for 17.6% of Mexico's manufacturing sector. Mexico is the second largest automobile manufacturing nation in the Western Hemisphere, after the United States, having produced 4 million vehicles in 2017. The industry produces technologically complex components and engages in research and development. The "Big Three" (General Motors, Ford and Chrysler) have been operating in Mexico since the 1930s, while Volkswagen and Nissan built their plants in the 1960s. In Puebla alone, 70 industrial part-makers cluster around Volkswagen. In the 2010s, expansion of the sector was surging. In 2014, more than $10 billion in investment was committed in the first few months of the year. Kia Motors in August 2014 announced plans for a $1 billion factory in Nuevo León. At the time, Mercedes-Benz and Nissan were already building a $1.4 billion plant near the city of Aguascalientes, while BMW was planning a $1-billion assembly plant in San Luis Potosí. Additionally, Audi began building a $1.3 billion factory near Puebla in 2013. Of the Mexican car exports to the US, most are carried by rail, and some by sea.

Vehicle use restrictions In Mexico City, the "Hoy no circula" ("Cannot be driven today") program is implemented. Every vehicle has a color sticker depending on the ending number of its plate, as well as a number to determine its pollution rate. Brand new cars "00" and recent models "0" are exempt; "Hoy no circula" only applies to vehicles older than 8 years, which have "1" and "2" designations. The program works by removing these vehicles from circulation one day during the week, and recently one Saturday per month, depending on their last license plate digit number. Said limitations occur as follows: Plates ending with 5 or 6 (yellow) cannot be driven on Mondays and the 1st Saturday of the current month. Plates ending with 7 or 8 (pink) cannot be driven on Tuesdays and the 2nd Saturday of the current month. Plates ending with 3 or 4 (red) cannot be driven on Wednesdays and the 3rd Saturday of the current month. Plates ending with 1 or 2 (green) cannot be driven on Thursdays and the 4th Saturday of the current month. Plates ending with 9 or 0 (blue) cannot be driven on Fridays and the 5th Saturday (if any) of the current month. For example, a fictional 1985 Volkswagen Golf with 903-NRX plates wouldn't be allowed to be driven on Wednesdays, September 18, 2010, nor October 16, 2010, etc. The newer weekends restrictions have received criticism. Only a few months a year have five Saturdays, and so the blue-stickered cars will be removed only four or five weekends a year from circulation, while the rest of the cars will be weekend-banned once every month.

Automotive culture and Mexico's auto show

Since the first "Autoexpo del Automóvil", the automotive culture in Mexico has been growing. The first Mexican auto magazines were published in November 1982 by Motor y Volante magazine, which became famous instantly for its irreverent criticism and professional performance testing of local versions of many cars. After more than 10 years of being the sole specialty magazine, other publishers decided to jump on the bandwagon; in early 1995, 4 Ruedas Magazine, and shortly after, Automóvil Panamericano saw light. Technological advances have resulted in Motor y Volante remaining the sole digital auto magazine (by subscription only) but with an extremely large affiliation due to its 30 years of existence. The Autoexpo changed denomination in 2004 to the "Salón Internacional del Automovil" to reflect its growth into an international size event. It is in fact an event comparable to the North American International Auto Show in Detroit. In the first two editions of Mexico's Auto Show, brands new to Mexico, like Mazda, were introduced. Jaguar and Volvo did not attend the 2004 or the 2005 editions. Renault would typically attend every two years. However, the 2006 edition of the auto show was considered a failure and a fraud since over 15 carmakers missed the event, including Volkswagen Group, Renault and Peugeot. After the 2006 edition and for the first time since 1994, SIAM was not hosted the following year. A two-year event is currently hosted.

Successful cars in Mexico Some cars have been especially successful in Mexico, depending on their cost and viability.

Chevrolet Corsa

The second-generation Opel Corsa (imported from Spain) was first introduced in Mexico in 1994 under the name "Chevrolet Chevy" as a response to the successful Volkswagen Sedan. General Motors used a practical, supermini with an affordable price tag for the Mexican consumer that gave excellent results. From 1996, when the Chevy Popular or Chevy Pop budget trim was introduced, and the Chevy began to be produced in the Ramos Arizpe GM assembly plant, it replaced the Volkswagen Sedan (Beetle) as the top selling car in Mexico. Chevrolet soon launched the also Mexican made Chevy Monza, similar to the 4-door saloon version of the Chevrolet Classic which is still currently produced in Argentina, for those who wanted a bigger trunk and more room for the same low price. Soon after, Chevrolet launched the also Mexican made Chevy Swing, similar to the 5-door saloon version of the second-generation Opel Corsa Hatchback, and Chevy Joy, similar to the 3-door Chevy Pop, but with more equipment.

The design was not changed until 2000 when it was facelifted in Europe with transparent headlights, newer rear lights and a new interior. A Station Wagon imported from Argentina was also launched as the Chevy Wagon, as well as a Brazilian-made pickup variant, launched as the Chevy Pickup. With the introduction of the Corsa III, however, the older Corsa was no longer manufactured in European GM plants. This generation Corsa remained in production in Mexico, Brazil and Argentina. In 2004, Mexican designers redesigned the Chevy inside and out and upgraded the 1.6-liter engine to reach 98 bhp. This newer Chevrolet was called C2 as a reference to the Corvette generations. In July 2008, a facelift designed in Detroit, Michigan was introduced for the new 2009 Chevy, available in 3- and 5-door hatchback, and 4-door sedan bodies.

Nissan Tsuru