Mexico Climbs to Fourth Place in Car Export

Original post, by Roberto Morales

In 2018, Mexican external sales grew 19% to almost 50 billion dollars; in a decade our country also surpassed France, Belgium, Spain and South Korea.

Mexico climbed in 2018 from the sixth to the fourth position among the world’s largest car exporters in terms of value, displacing the United Kingdom and Canada.

While Mexican exports presented a year-on-year growth rate of 19%, reaching 49,406 million dollars, those of the United Kingdom remained unchanged (42,048 million) and those of Canada decreased 12% (41,008 million).

“Mexico has the potential to continue growing in its vehicle production and evidently the fact that we have an integration with the North American market implies that there is greater potential,” said Moisés Zavaleta, director of Strategy at Ansley Consultores Internacionales.

Germany retained, with a large margin, the first position, adding 154,714 million dollars, a decrease of 2%;followed by Japan, an increase of 6%, to 99,124 million, and the United States, a decline of 4%, to 51,443 million.

“The fact that Mexico maintains important growth rates has to do with the whole global context, with the part of the international economy, but there is the potential that it can continue to maintain growth,” added Zavaleta, who headed the negotiations table of the rules. of origin of the automotive sector by the Mexican government in the Treaty between Mexico, the United States and Canada .

Of the total Mexican exports of cars (passenger vehicles) in the past year, 70.6% went to the United States, followed by those sent to Germany (8.2%), Canada (5.9%), Brazil (2%), Italy (2%) and China (1.4), according to data from the Ministry of Economy.

In 2019, Mexico will have as expanded opportunities for the automotive sector the reopening without tariffs in the car trade with Brazil and the liberalization of the countries that are part of the Integral and Progressive Treaty of Trans-Pacific Partnership.

Additionally, as of March 19, 2019, the quota in the car trade between Mexico and Argentina will have an annual increase of 10% in the first year, 5% in the second year, and 5% in the third year.

Once this period of transition is over, free trade in cars will come into effect at the same time as the expansion and deepening of ACE 6 Mexico-Argentina.

Even though Mexico increased its exports, its production fell in 2018 measured in units.

According to the Mexican Association of the Automotive Industry, the country produced 3 million 908,139 light vehicles, a year-on-year decrease of 0.6 percent.

In volume, Mexico exported 3 million 449,201 vehicles last year, 6% more than in 2017.

The car manufacturers established in Mexico include Audi, Baic Group, FCA Group, Ford, General Motors, Honda, Kia, Mazda, Nissan, Toyota and Volkswagen.

In particular, the production of Mercedes-Benz is associated through Nissan-Daimler; Hyundai produces through its partner Kia, and BMW is building a plant in San Luis Potosí.

Together, these companies produce more than 40 brands and 500 models. Around 82% of the production of vehicles is dedicated to exports, while the remaining 18% goes to the Mexican national market.

A decade ago, in 2008, Mexico ranked 10th among the largest car exporters, surpassed by Germany, Japan, the United States, Canada, South Korea, the United Kingdom, Spain, Belgium and France.