The Mexican Association of Automobile Distributors (AMDA) described as “regrettable” the new extension of the decree for the regularization of imported used vehicles (colloquially known as chocolate cars) , until September 30, 2026, promoted by outgoing President Andrés Manuel López Obrador (AMLO), since it encourages automotive smuggling.
AMDA considered through a statement that AMLO is invading Claudia Sheinbaum ‘s mandate with this decision , a few days before she assumes the Presidency of the Republic (October 1).
“President Sheinbaum’s technical knowledge, professional career and commitment to the environment led us to believe that a government policy that is harmful to Mexico should be reversed,” the association said.
He recalled that López Obrador ordered the publication in the Official Gazette of the Federation (DOF) of the modification of said decree, which was originally published on January 19, 2022 , and that so far two million 559 thousand 256 vehicles had been regularized through that program.
AMDA stressed that the decree sets out various requirements for regularizing cars that were in a contraband situation, and one of the main ones was that it was proven that they had been introduced into the country without the formalities of the customs procedure until October 19, 2021 .
It was also established that units that did not comply with the physical-mechanical or environmental protection conditions, and those that had a theft report or were related to the commission of a crime , would not be regularized .
“All these requirements have been a dead letter, which puts public officials who have authorized the regularization of millions of vehicles on the spot, for which there is evidence of failing to meet one of the specifications that the decree established to regularize smuggling,” he said.
AMDA warned that the authorized regularization without major control mechanisms would become an “incentive to smuggling,” beyond being a contribution to preventing smuggling.
The agency found that during the validity of the decree, the flow of vehicle smuggling has continued , and noted that “corruption of public officials has also become widespread by allowing the entry of the chocolate vehicles.”
He pointed out that one of the consequences is the economic impact on the country, and in that sense he specified that Chihuahua is ranked first in vehicle regularization, since while the new car market nationwide advanced 12.2% in August compared to 2023 , in this entity there is a decline of 5.6% in the same reference period.
This announcement comes just days before President López Obrador concludes his term and a new administration headed by Claudia Sheinbaum takes over, which has generated uncertainty in several sectors , especially in the economic sector and now in the automotive sector, which contributes to the concern that the reform of the Judicial Branch has also caused.
On the other hand, and according to information from the Mexican government, the regularization of used vehicles of foreign origin has managed to collect six thousand 398 million pesos , which have been invested in paving actions in several entities that are contemplated in the program, among them, Baja California, Baja California Sur, Chihuahua, Coahuila and Durango.
According to the National Institute of Statistics and Geography (INEGI) , sales of light vehicles in Mexico reached 127,684 units last August , which represents an increase of 11.9% compared to the same month of the previous year and, in turn, is placed as the best month of sales in the year and the best August since 2016.
Comment and follow us on Twitter: @GrupoT21
