There is a figure that should concern any transport company in Mexico: 20.2 years. That is the average age of a cargo truck operating in the country in 2026, according to figures cited by the International Council on Clean Transportation (ICCT) and the Secretariat of Infrastructure, Communications and Transportation. The International Road Transport Union (IRU) recommends an average fleet age of between 5 and 7 years. In other words, Mexico’s vehicle fleet operates, on average, at nearly four times the recommended limit—and the figure keeps rising: in 2025, it was 19.5 years.
An aging fleet presents more than just image or efficiency issues; it is, quite literally, a sensor problem. The older a vehicle is, the less likely it is to feature digital monitoring of its critical components. And the component that receives the least monitoring—yet can most quickly turn a routine trip into an accident—is the tires.
A fleet's costliest blind spot: the tires.
There are currently no publicly available, disaggregated statistics for Mexico regarding accidents caused specifically by tire failures; however, data from markets with more mature reporting systems provide a clear idea of the magnitude of the risk—and there is no reason to believe that the Mexican fleet, which is older on average, would be any better off.
- According to the NHTSA (the U.S. road safety authority), 9% of the crashes analyzed in its National Motor Vehicle Crash Causation Survey involved tire issues as a pre-crash factor.
- A tire underinflated by more than 25% relative to the recommended pressure is three times more likely to be the critical factor in a crash.
- In heavy-duty truck operations across North America, tire issues were the leading cause of out-of-service citations in 2024–2025, accounting for over 250,000 citations; 84% of these involved flat, leaking, or underinflated tires.
- Between 2021 and 2023, more than 200 accidents were reported in which a tire-related issue was a contributing factor, resulting in 173 deaths.
The pattern repeats across every source: the problem is almost never a tire that “blows out without warning.” It is a tire that had been losing pressure for days or weeks—without anyone realizing it—until it was too late.
The cost that does not appear on the income statement
Beyond the risk of an accident, an improperly monitored tire costs the fleet money every day:
- According to Michelin data, under-inflation of 22 psi relative to the recommended pressure increases fuel consumption by 1% and results in a performance loss of up to 10%.
- That 1% excess consumption, multiplied by dozens or hundreds of units operating every day of the year, translates into a fuel expense that no fleet has budgeted for, because no one is measuring it.
- Added to this is the cost of an unplanned breakdown: a vehicle stranded on the road due to a tire failure not only loses the current trip but also the next load—and, in many cases, the customer.
Regulation is forging ahead—but not for freight trucks.
Starting in 2026, the NOM-194-SE-2021 standard mandates the inclusion of tire pressure monitoring systems (TPMS) in all new cars sold in Mexico. This serves as official recognition that real-time tire pressure monitoring is no longer a technological extra, but rather a minimum safety standard.
To date, that requirement does not extend to the freight transport sector. The segment with the oldest fleet, the highest axle loads, the most time spent on the road, and the most at stake if something goes wrong is also the one subject to the fewest regulatory requirements regarding tire monitoring. While an office worker’s personal vehicle comes with this technology straight from the factory, a 20-year-old semi-truck hauling 40 tons can continue operating with no visibility whatsoever into the actual condition of its tires.
The law isn't going to close that gap—at least not yet. Each fleet has to close it by its own choice.
Modernizing isn't about buying new units. It's about starting to measure.
Renewing an entire fleet of 600,000 tractor-trailers is not a decision made overnight, and not all companies have the capital to do so. However, monitoring the component that generates the most incidents and hidden costs—tires—in real time is a decision that can be made today, without waiting for the next fleet renewal.
In practice, modernizing means having real-time visibility into four things for each tire:
- Individual location tracking, to know exactly where each unit and each tire is located.
- Operating temperature, to anticipate overheating before it leads to failure.
- Tread depth, to schedule timely replacements rather than reacting when it is already too late.
- Internal pressure—the variable that, according to the aforementioned data, lies behind the majority of tire-related incidents.
This is exactly what Quinta Tech solves.
At Quinta, we developed a smart sensor with AI integrations that is installed on each tire, connects via Bluetooth, and integrates with a system we call Qbox to transmit those four parameters in real time—on a platform designed for operational decision-making, not just for data accumulation.
With a Mexican fleet averaging twice the internationally recommended age—and with no regulatory mandate yet in place for freight transport—the question is no longer whether it makes sense to monitor your fleet's tires. It is how much it continues to cost you—in risk, fuel, and unscheduled downtime—to go without doing so.
Don't wait for the law to force you, or for a blowout on the road to prove it to you. Discover Quinta Tech at www.quinta.tech or write to us at ventas@quinta.tech and discover how exposed your fleet is today.
Sources: Expansión (August 2026), ICCT, Secretariat of Infrastructure, Communications and Transportation; TyT Magazine / General Directorate of Federal Motor Transport; National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA), National Survey on Causes of Vehicle Accidents; InvestigateTV (March 2026) regarding heavy-duty truck service citations in North America; Michelin Mexico, tire pressure guide; NOM-194-SE-2021.
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