Mexico plans to modernize its heavy transport vehicles with government funding

During the president’s morning press conference, Economy Secretary, Marcelo Ebrard announced a comprehensive program to accelerate the renewal of the heavy-duty trucking fleet, which includes tax incentives, financing, and new regulations for the sector.
The plan, backed by the so-called “Plan Mexico,” calls for an initial investment of US$112 million in tax incentives, as well as a total fund of US$336 million in financial and tax support.

According to the official, there are approximately 1.2 million heavy-duty vehicles on the road in Mexico; and the program aims to increase the fleet renewal rate by up to six times, enabling approximately 60% of transport operators to access schemes to replace their vehicles, without this implying the replacement of that percentage of the total vehicle fleet.

On the regulatory front, the creation of a Mexican Official Standard (NOM) was announced, which will establish mandatory safety devices for all heavy-duty vehicles, regardless of whether they are new, used, or imported.

Lighting systems, indirect vision mirrors, and control devices are also being considered, with the aim of reducing road risks.

In addition to this, the strategy calls for stricter controls on the importation of used vehicles, through the updating of estimated prices to prevent practices such as undervaluation and the entry of vehicles that do not comply with national regulations.