ElectroPyME is a financing scheme that could finance approximately 300 electric urban and last-mile freight vehicles, backed by a MXN $17 million guarantee fund and estimated to mobilize more than MXN $278 million in investment
Mexico City, Mexico (6 October 2026) – Nacional Financiera (NAFIN), C40 Cities and The Climate Pledge today launched ElectroPyME, the first national program in Latin America specifically designed to finance the electrification of urban and last-mile freight transport for small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs) in Mexico.
The announcement was made during Mexico Climate Week, bringing together leaders from Mexico’s government, financial sector, industry and international climate organizations to accelerate the transition to electric mobility and advance the decarbonization of freight transport.
The launch was led by Carlos Torres Rosas, general director of Nacional Financiera and Bancomext; Juan Pablo de Botton, Secretary of Finance and Administration; Manola Zabalza, Secretary of Economic Development of Mexico City (SEDECO); Julia Álvarez Icaza, Secretary of the Environment of Mexico City (SEDEMA); Ilan Cuperstein, Regional Director for Latin America at C40 Cities; and Sarah Dimson-Tararuj, Head of Strategic Projects & Programs at The Climate Pledge.
According to Nafin, ElectroPyME could help finance approximately 300 electric freight vehicles, supported by a MXN $17 million guarantee fund and with the potential to mobilize close to MXN $278 million in investment. The program is designed to address one of the main barriers preventing SMEs from electrifying their fleets: access to affordable financing.
Carlos Torres Rosas, General Director of NAFIN/Bancomext, noted that SMEs are fundamental to the economy; however, they face greater challenges in financing investments that can transform their businesses, such as the transition to electric vehicles. “Every small business that is able to replace its vehicle and reduce its operating costs brings us one step closer to cleaner air and healthier cities, while helping accelerate the transition toward a more efficient, sustainable, and less polluting economy”.
Closing the financing gap for SME electrification
Mexico’s transport sector generates approximately 23% of the country’s total greenhouse gas emissions, with close to 90% of transport emissions coming from road transport, including light-duty vehicles, vans, buses and freight trucks.
Electrifying freight fleets represents an opportunity to reduce greenhouse gas emissions and air pollution while also generating economic benefits for businesses through lower operating and energy costs. In this context, electrifying freight fleets represents an opportunity to reduce emissions and air pollution, while also generating economic benefits for companies through lower operating costs and greater energy efficiency.
For SMEs, however, the higher upfront cost of electric vehicles is compounded by a second barrier: access to financing. Financial products specifically designed for electric freight transport remain scarce, while interest rates for financing electric vehicles can range between 20% and 25% per year. These conditions can be prohibitively expensive, extend investment payback periods, and make fleet electrification more difficult for smaller businesses.
ElectroPyME: lowering the cost of financing
ElectroPyME seeks to address this barrier through a NAFIN guarantee scheme, which reduces part of the risk assumed by financial intermediaries when extending credit to SMEs for the acquisition of electric freight vehicles.
Through this mechanism, the program aims to mobilize approximately MXN $278 million in financing for electric freight vehicles, while offering a maximum interest rate of 16.5%, well below the 20–25% rates that SMEs commonly face through other financing products.
The program is also expected to significantly shorten the time required for businesses to recover their investment. Initial estimates indicate that the payback period for an electric freight vehicle could fall from approximately 15 years to 6.7 years under the program’s financing conditions.
Sarah Dimson-Tararuj, The Climate Pledge: “ElectroPyME is transformational for the EV freight industry in Mexico. ElectroPyMe is a derisking mechanism that sends an incredibly strong demand signal to commercial banks and OEMs – ultimately helping companies decrease supply chain emissions in a very tangible way. Climate Pledge signatories and other companies operating in the region can drive towards net-zero much faster as carriers make the shift away from fossil fuel powered vehicles to EVs”.
By reducing both the cost and risk associated with financing, ElectroPyME aims to make electric freight vehicles a more accessible investment for businesses that might otherwise be unable to transition their fleets.
From market potential to expected impact
The potential market for SME fleet electrification in Mexico is significant. Approximately 97% of companies using urban freight transport are micro and small businesses, making access to appropriate financing particularly important for the transition.
A C40 Cities study identified approximately 100,000 SMEs across Mexico with the financial and operational potential to adopt electric mobility solutions in the short and medium term. These businesses operate across sectors with significant urban freight activity, including grocery and retail, food and beverage, pharmaceuticals, and household appliances.
C40 Cities estimate that the first phase of ElectroPyME could help finance approximately 300 electric freight vehicles. Over a ten-year period, the introduction of these vehicles could avoid approximately 11,931 metric tons of CO₂, equivalent to taking approximately 2,783 passenger cars off the road or the carbon sequestration associated with planting approximately 197,280 trees.
Ilan Cuperstein, Regional Director of C40 Cities, says: “ElectroPyME marks a major milestone for the region. Mexico is the first country in Latin America to launch a national financing program specifically designed to help SMEs transition to electric vehicles for urban freight. Through ElectroPyME, Nacional Financiera is offering Latin America’s first financial product dedicated to zero-emission urban freight for SMEs, making the financing needed for this transition more accessible. By addressing one of the main barriers to electric vehicle adoption, the program will help small businesses reduce emissions and operating costs while supporting cleaner, more sustainable cities.”
A just, affordable and inclusive transition to electric mobility
Beyond expanding access to financing, ElectroPyME aims to ensure that the benefits of fleet electrification reach businesses that have traditionally faced greater barriers to credit. The program incorporates a gender lens into its design, improving financing conditions for companies led by women or with a high share of women employees
This approach seeks to ensure that the electrification of urban freight is not limited to companies with greater financial capacity, and instead supports a just, affordable and inclusive transition that can generate economic and environmental benefits for businesses, workers and cities.
A model for scaling freight electrification
By focusing on SMEs—the backbone of Mexico’s urban freight ecosystem—ElectroPyME seeks to connect the Plan México priorities and climate commitments through the NDC 3.0. with practical investment opportunities for SMEs operating in cities.
ElectroPyME is operated by Nacional Financiera (NAFIN) and developed with the technical support of C40 Cities and The Climate Pledge through Laneshift, an initiative working to accelerate the electrification of freight transport and develop solutions that can be scaled across cities and markets in Brazil, Mexico and India.
With the launch of ElectroPyME, Mexico is creating a new financing pathway for SMEs seeking to transition toward zero-emission freight transport, establishing the pathway for scaling a pioneering program and replicating across Latin America.