MEXICO CITY: Fueled by credit-enabled buyers at home and relatively stable demand from U.S. consumers, Mexico’s already booming automotive industry continued its acceleration in September, officials said Tuesday.
September production of cars and light trucks grew 4% from a year before and was up nearly 20% in the past three quarters, compared with the same period in 2014.
More than 80% of the 2.5 million cars and light trucks produced through September were exported, the majority of them to Nafta partners the U.S. and Canada, according to industry figures.
However, the more than 216,000 vehicles exported in September marked a 1.7% drop from a year ago, mostly on sharply lower sales to Canada, South America and Asia. Exports to the U.S. increased by 8%, the Mexican Automotive Industry Association said.
Mexico has overtaken Japan as the second source of U.S. auto imports, after Canada, and Mexican made vehicles now account for 11% of cars and trucks sold to U.S. consumers. U.S. customers buy more than 70% of the light vehicles Mexico sells abroad.
New car sales in Mexico continued to leap, rising by nearly a quarter in September compared with the same month a year ago. Dealers moved more than 111,000 cars and light trucks off their lots last month, two thirds of them sold on credit.
“It’s very significant growth,” said Guillermo Prieto, executive president of the Mexican Automotive Distributors Association. “We’ve had a very important recovery in recent years and especially in the past year.”
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