Under the term «chocolate cars» In Mexico, we mean cars of foreign origin, most often from the United States, imported into the territory of the country without paying customs duties, without registration in the customs system and without registration in the Secretaría de Hacienda y Crédito Público (SHCP) or Servicio de Administración Tributaria (SAT) register. These are cars with foreign license plates that are not legalized in Mexico. They constitute a special layer of the gray market for motor vehicles that has existed for decades in the border areas and other regions of Mexico.
Origin of the term «chocolate car» associated with a distortion of the English word choked — «strangled» or «impassable», in the sense of a car that has not passed through an official customs filter. Over time, the word transformed into «chocolates» and became a stable designation for cars imported unofficially. In some regions, especially northern Mexico, the term is used without negative connotation, as a common designation for cars registered in the United States but used in Mexican territory.
Historically, chocolate cars have been associated with the frontier economy. Millions of Mexicans work or have lived in the United States and have returned with used cars bought at low prices. In the US, a car with 10-15 years of use loses almost all of its market value, but in Mexico, even older models retain functionality and value. Importing a car through the official channel is expensive, so many people choose to physically move the car rather than clear it through Mexican customs.
By the mid-2000s, the Mexican Automobile Manufacturers Association (AMIA) estimates there were more than 1.5 million of these vehicles in the country. As of 2024, according to the Institute of National Statistics and Geography (INEGI) and SAT reports, the total number of chocolate cars was estimated at 4-5 million units, in other words approximately 10-12% of all passenger cars in the country. They are especially common in northern states — Baja California, Sonora, Chihuahua, Coahuila, Nuevo Leon, Tamaulipas, and in addition to Durango and Baja California Sur.
The difference between chocolate cars and cars imported in the usual way is their customs status. When officially importing, the owner must go through the registration procedure in the SAT system, pay customs duties (duty, VAT and, in some cases, tax on new cars — ISAN), and in addition obtain a permit from the Ministry of Economy and a certificate of environmental compliance NOM-EM-167. This process is not performed for chocolate cars. Such cars cross the border with a temporary permit (permiso de importación temporal), which often expires after 180 days, but the car remains on the territory of the state. Sometimes cars are imported without permits at all, especially in lightly trafficked sections of the border.
Visually, chocolate cars are usually identified by foreign license plates, most often from the US California, Arizona, Texas or New Mexico. Many do not have Mexican inspection and occupancy tax (tenencia) stickers.
In 2022, the Mexican government initiated a large-scale campaign to legalize them, known as regularización de vehículos usados de procedencia extranjera. The basis was a presidential decree that allows owners of illegally imported cars to legalize them subject to a number of conditions. This decree has been extended until November 2026. To be legalized, the vehicle must be manufactured in North America, as evidenced by the first character of the VIN number (1, 2 or 3). Cars assembled in Japan, Europe or South Korea are not subject to simplified legalization. The car must not be wanted, and its owner must reside in one of the states included in the program.
The program initially covered 10 northern states, later others were added, and as of 2025 it operates in 16 states in Mexico.
Technically, the legalization procedure covers the following steps:
- online registration on the websiteregularizaauto.sspc.gob.mx,
- payment of a single fee of 2,500 pesos,
- VIN number verification through the National Guard and SAT database,
- vehicle inspection and data verification,
- issuance of a certificate of legalization,
- registering the vehicle with the local system (state vehicle registry) and obtaining Mexican license plates.
The process takes 1-3 days if the documentation is in order. After registration, the car is considered fully legalized, however, the vehicle registration certificate (tarjeta de circulación) indicates that it has undergone the process of regularización de vehículo de procedencia extranjera. This means that the car is not imported according to the usual procedure, but has undergone simplified legalization under a special decree.
Import and legalization restrictions are quite strict. The program applies only to cars imported before the date of publication of the decree — new cars or freshly imported cars are not eligible to be included. In addition, the legalization of luxury cars, trucks with a carrying capacity of more than 5 tons, as well as cars that are in poor technical condition or violate environmental standards is prohibited.
The program does not allow the legalization of cars with a foreign VIN if they are listed as stolen or have falsified unit numbers. Finally, each car can only be legalized once, and re-applying for the same car is not possible.
The costs of legalizing a chocolate car are significantly lower than for regular imports. When legalizing, the owner pays a fixed fee of 2,500 pesos, as well as possible administrative expenses (copies of papers, services of assistants — gestoría, registration in the state — about 1,000-2,000 pesos).
For normal imports, costs cover:
- duty (usually 10% of the customs value),
- VAT (16%),
- ISAN tax (up to 17% for new cars),
- brokerage services and NOM certification (another 4,000-8,000 pesos).
In total, full legalization in the standard way costs at least 25-30% of the cost of the car, while the regularization program is estimated at less than 5,000 pesos. For cars costing up to 100,000 pesos, the difference becomes decisive.
Geographically, the legalization program does not operate throughout Mexico. It covers mainly the north and center of the country: Baja California, Baja California Sur, Sonora, Chihuahua, Coahuila, Nuevo Leon, Tamaulipas, Durango, Sinaloa, Zacatecas, Nayarit, Michoacan, Jalisco, Aguascalientes, San Luis Potosi and Guanajuato. The program is not applied in the southern and capital regions.
This means that a resident of Mexico City or the state of Morelos cannot legalize a chocolate car, even if the car is physically located there. However, after legalization in one of the permitted states, the car can be completely legally sold and registered in other regions.
It is possible to determine that a car is legal based on several criteria. Firstly, the presence of Mexican license plates and a circulación card marked regularizado. Secondly, the SAT mark on completion of the processes and a receipt for payment of 2,500 pesos. Most of these vehicles have an official legalization QR code sticker on their windshield, which can be used to check legalization.
Unlike temporarily imported cars, legalized cars are no longer considered foreign and can move freely around the country.
The main problem with legalized chocolate cars — limited market liquidity. Buyers are wary of such vehicles because their origins are often difficult to trace. Many lack the original US title documentation, and Mexican certificates of legalization do not always provide legal guarantee that the car is not reported stolen.
In addition, resale in other states may require re-inspection and re-registration. In some cases, SAT will refuse to update data due to errors in the VIN number or inconsistency in documentation.
When attempting to export a legalized chocolate car back to the United States, additional complications arise: it loses its imported status, and it cannot be re-registered in the United States without full compliance with local environmental and technical standards.
Economically, the legalization program has a dual effect. On the one hand, it allows the state to collect significant revenues: from 2022 to 2024, over 2.2 million cars were legalized, bringing the budget more than 5.5 billion pesos. On the other hand, it reduces demand for new cars and hits official dealers.
Manufacturers and importers point out that the mass legalization of old cars slows down the renewal of the vehicle fleet, increases air pollution and reduces road safety. Average age of legalized cars — about 15 years, most — models 2005-2012.
However, legalization ensures that a significant part of the gray vehicle fleet is formally transferred to the legal field. The term «chocolate car» remains a symbol of Mexican everyday life, in which bureaucratic barriers and the real needs of the population continue to move in different directions.