Samsung said that from this Wednesday, will be those in the past three weeks in Mexico to activate the illegal import of cell phones to lock. The company said, “At Samsung Mexico, we are committed to the safety of our users and comply with local regulations in each country where we operate. Starting October 11, those smartphones from the gray market that have been activated in Mexico since September 21, 2023 will be locked.”

Additionally the company said that for those affected by the lockout, it will offer a 30% discount coupon that can be used on its official website, which is valid until December 31, 2023.

The so-called gray market has become a major headache for Mexican handset makers, with some brands importing a quarter of their handsets into Mexico illegally, according to industry data. These devices are brought into Mexico by third parties and are often sold at lower prices, but do not comply with local standards and can pose risks; a problem that has become so serious that manufacturers are now not only resorting to tactics such as locking up their phones, but also seeking to change the law to prohibit them.

In fact, in mid-February of this year, Samsung began to send messages to users of illegally imported phones warning them that their phones did not comply with Mexican regulations, while in July of last year Motorola became the first company to begin blocking the gray market for the purchase of devices.

At the time, Samsung’s legal director in Mexico, Daniel Pérez-Cirera Santacruz, said that they had found that between 15% and 20% of Samsung phones sold in Mexico came from the gray market, a number that changes every month; however, for other companies, the number could be as high as 25%.

Samsung also said that they will conduct a communication campaign to warn users of the consequences of purchasing gray market phones, with the participation of its manufacturers and industry participants.

Samsung and Motorola are said to account for nearly half of all smartphone sales in Mexico, and more companies are expected to take such measures.

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▲ Photo source: Toyota

Toyota said in a statement, “This means that the Guanajuato plant will now be part of the company’s electrification production strategy.”

Since the plant was announced, Toyota has invested nearly $1.2 billion (currently about R8.535 billion) in Guanajuato and says the plant now provides more than 2,500 jobs. The announcement comes after Guanajuato Governor Diego Sinhue visited Japan.

According to Reuters, while Mexico is a major auto manufacturing center that produces a large number of electric cars each year, many of them are exported to developed countries such as the United States. For drivers in most parts of Mexico, electric cars are still too expensive and lacking in practicality because the country lacks a good network of charging stations.

In March, Tesla said it would open a super factory in the northern Mexican state of Nuevo León as the company looks to expand its global production.

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Mexican President Andrés Manuel López Obrador (Andrés Manuel López Obrador) said the new factory will be a “considerable investment” that will provide many jobs.

Image source Pexels

He did not provide specific details on the size or scope of the facility but said Tesla will announce more details on Wednesday ( Tesla is hosting an investor day today, where Musk is expected to detail the company’s plans).

However, the Mexican foreign ministry official said Tesla’s factory in Mexico will produce 1 million electric cars per year for the Mexican domestic and international markets (note: the Shanghai mega-factory currently has a capacity of more than 1.1-1.2 million), and he said the Mexican Tesla factory investment is worth more than $5 billion.

Musk said last year that the electric car company may need to add 10 to 12 more mega-factories to its existing facilities (California, Nevada, Texas, New York, Shanghai, China and Berlin, Germany) to boost its car production. The company said it wants to produce 20 million electric cars a year by 2030.

According to Reuters, the announcement came after the Mexican president responded to the water shortage on Friday (Tesla was denied a permit to build a factory in the state where Monterrey is located because of a lack of water) by saying that Tesla had made several commitments to address the region’s water shortage, including a commitment that all water used to build electric cars would be recycled water.

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On Tuesday, local time, Mexico’s Ministry of Economy tweeted that after meeting with GM, the company discussed plans to produce only electric cars at the Ramos Arizpe plant.

Currently, the Ramos Arizpe plant produces the Chevrolet Equinox and Chevrolet Blazer ICE, both of which will be available as electric models after the next few years.

GM has announced vehicle sales that show it has become the largest U.S. automaker in 2022, but its electric vehicle sales are lagging behind traditional and emerging competitors such as Tesla, Hyundai / Kia and Ford. For this reason, the company plans to launch more electric models and accelerate the production of electric vehicles to accelerate the transition to electrification.

In November 2022, the media reported that GM plans to launch more than 15 all-electric models based on the Ultium platform in China by 2025 to catch up with the world’s largest electric vehicle market leader.

Previously, the company had said it would produce 400,000 electric vehicles for the North American market from 2022 through the first half of 2024, a slower timeline than previously forecast. In addition, the company plans to accelerate electric vehicle production in North America and China from 2023 to 2025.

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The people said the plant will be located in Santa Catarina, Monterrey, the capital of the Mexican state of Nuevo León. One of the sources said that the final details are still being finalized and that Tesla is discussing the matter with the Mexican Foreign Ministry and officials from the state of Nuevo Leon.

In October, Tesla CEO Elon Musk visited Nuevo León and met with officials there. And, Tesla’s previously established relationship with the state government has earned it exclusive customs access, allowing some parts to cross the border into Texas.

The plant will be Tesla’s first south of the U.S. border and is part of its efforts to expand global manufacturing. In addition to the U.S. plant, Tesla has previously built large vehicle assembly plants in China and Germany.

In fact, Tesla has long considered building a third factory in North America, following California and Texas. In August of this year, Musk also informed shareholders that a new factory decision could be made before the end of the year.

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