During the first hundred years after the War of Independence, Puebla, being the second city of the New Spain, was the first to industrialize. Today, Puebla is still an important industrial city, mainly in the textile sector. Puebla is also home to the Mexican headquarters and the only North American manufacturing site of Volkswagen, which assembles the Jetta and New Beetle models. Other German and French manufacturing companies operate in the city, most of them outsourcers for Volkswagen.

In 2003 Puebla has served as the interim headquarters of Free Trade Area of the Americas (FTAA). It has submitted its candidacy to serve as the permanent headquarters if the FTAA is ever ratified.