This paper contextualises the background of a broader research on the digital technological transformation in the automotive industry in Mexico. It explores the impact of the NAFTA in the development of automotive industry in Mexico and how this country has become an important player in the global value chains of the automotive industry. This will provide the ongoing research project on "Digital transformation in the automotive supply chain in Mexico" with insights of what could be the impact of the new trade agreement with US and Canada, as well as its effects inside the country and its crosscountry impact on the automotive global value chain. The paper describes briefly the situation of the automotive industry before the NAFTA was signed, in 1992, and the development in Mexico during the validity of Agreement. The automotive industry has become the second most important industry in Mexico, after food industries. In 2015 it represented 18.5% of manufacturing GDP, and it exports most of its production to the United States. In 2018, Mexico ranked as the 8th world producers of cars.