Mexico’s Automotive Production Breaks Records in June

Assembly plants located in Mexico recorded an increase in activity last June, resulting in the production of just over 361,000 units.

This volume is 4.9% higher than in the same period in 2024 and the highest figure for the sixth month of the year since Inegi began keeping records.

With this upturn, the total number of light vehicles produced in Mexico during the first half of the year was 2,006,720 units, a volume that exceeds last year's result by 0.5% and is also the highest figure recorded for a similar period.

It should be noted that this is only the second time that the automotive industry established in the country has exceeded the two million units produced mark in six months, with 2019 being the first time that this figure was exceeded by just 1,272 units.

In terms of exports, the story is not entirely different, as automakers with operations in Mexico shipped 331,517 units abroad during June, the highest figure for the sixth month of the year and 14% higher than the result for 2024.

However, the cumulative volume of exports in the first half of the year is 1,666,184 light vehicles, representing a decline of 2.8% compared to the same period in 2024.

This result is partly due to a 2.9% drop in exports to the United States, the main destination for Mexican automotive exports, where 1,327,892 of these vehicles were shipped, representing 79.7% of the total volume.

Among the best-performing automakers last month was Toyota, which reported a 24.7% upturn in June production, while the cumulative volume for the first half of the year is 55.2% higher than a year ago.

Another case worth noting is that of Kia, the South Korean firm, which recorded a 24.3% increase in production in June, while the total for the first half of the year exceeded the volume obtained in the first half of 2024 by 15.5%, driven largely by a considerable increase in the assembly of Tucson SUVs.

It should also be noted that during June, Kia continued production testing of the hatchback version of the K4. The Pesquería plant produced another 33 units last month, bringing the total number of units manufactured so far this year to 53.

Honda reported favorable results with a 13.2% upturn in June production and an 8.3% increase in half-year results. This result is largely due to the launch of the Acura ADX, of which more than 20,000 units were produced in the first half of the year.

Ford increased its production by 5.4% in June compared to the same month in 2024, while the total volume for the first six months was 7.7% higher than last year, which can be largely attributed to a 63.9% increase in Mustang Mach-E production.

For General Motors, the monthly production increase was 4.3%. However, when comparing the half-year results, the outcome shows a marginal increase of just 1% compared to the volume for the first half of 2024.

Volkswagen was another company that improved its activity in June with a 10.1% increase in production, although the result for the first six months is still 21.2% below the volume achieved a year ago.

A similar case is that of Stellantis, which also recorded a modest 3.8% increase in production in the sixth month. However, the multinational automaker has accumulated an 18.9% drop in the volume of vehicles assembled during the first half of the year.

The Saltillo plant reported the assembly of just over 500 Ram 1500 pickups, with production of this model beginning to pick up pace at the Coahuila complex, while at the Toluca plant, production of the Wagoneer S reached just under 8,000 units in the first half of the year.

Among the automakers with negative performance in June is Nissan, which recorded a 2.2% drop in its June production. However, the Japanese company maintains a marginal increase of 0.3% in total volume for the first half of the year.

Its compatriot Mazda reported a 19% drop in production volume in June, while the half-year result is 4.4% lower than last year.

Similarly, but in the premium segment, Audi recorded declines of 11.8% and 7.7% in its monthly and half-year production volumes, respectively, while for BMW the declines were 3.3% for June and 3% for the first half of the year.