Automotive industry grows in February

MEXICO – The automotive industry maintains positive results in 2023 and in February it increased production and exports of vehicles.

According to Inegi data, Mexico's light car assembly grew by 9.85% at an annual rate in February, a better result than in January, when it increased by 2.38%.

On the other hand, car shipments abroad increased by 14.18 percent compared to February 2022, a higher rate than that shown in January, which was 9.93 percent.

The growth in production was driven by brands such as Volkswagen, Stellantis, Mazda and Nissan, which saw double-digit increases.

Other companies such as Ford, Toyota, Honda and Audi registered contractions, which shows that there is still no homogeneous recovery in the industry.

In addition, an analysis by Banco Base indicates that car manufacturing in Mexico during the first two months of the year lagged 11.24 percent behind the same period in 2020, prior to the impact of the pandemic.

Exports, meanwhile, remain 8.71 percent below the pre-crisis level.

However, in this last category, eight of the 12 brands that export cars from Mexico had positive results in February, according to the Inegi report.