Here’s how sales of Mexico-made vehicles ended up in the US market in October

8 November, 2018

Warning: foreach() argument must be of type array|object, bool given in /home/mexiconow/public_html/sites/mexiconow/wp-content/themes/mexiconowwpnew/single.php on line 253

As everyone expected, demand for crossovers, SUVs and pickups remained strong in October. Such consumer behavior reflected in the Audi Q5, the Jeep Compass and the Dodge Journey, whose sales rose at two-digit pace for the second month in a row.

Nonetheless, sedans sales are pretty much alive as shown in the Ford Fiesta, the Kia Forte and the all-new Jetta. On the one hand, the first and the last managed to increase their sales at a double-digit rate during October.

On the other hand, and despite the fact that the Forte and the Jetta compete against each other in the same segment, both nameplates managed to position themselves as the best-selling vehicle of their respective brands in the past month.

The following report does not necessary reflects that each vehicle sold from certain model was built in Mexico, as marked in those particular cases. Automakers constantly mix domestic and overseas supplies from several countries to meet U.S. demand.

Audi

In October, sales of Audi of America dropped 17% to 16,056 vehicles, ending a streak of 107 months of sales increases in a row. Audi’s year-to-date sales through October are still up 1.7% to 183,476 units.

The made-in-Puebla Q5 SUV, Audi’s best-selling model in the United States in October and throughout the year, saw its sales rise 15% last month to 6,252 units, which means that more than one in three vehicles sold by the German automaker in October was a Q5. In the first ten months of 2018, sales of the Q5 totaled 55,946 units, an increase of 25% compared to the same 10-month period of 2017.

Fiat Chrysler Automobiles

Fiat Chrysler Automobiles US (FCA) reported U.S. sales of 177,391 vehicles in October, a 16% hike compared to same month of 2017. Its year-to-date sales are now of 1,857,374 units, up 7%. FCA sold 14,083 Jeep Compass last month, a 26% hike compared to October 2017. Year-to-date sales are now of 146,757 vehicles, which represents a three-digit hike of 125% compared to sales from the first ten months of 2017.

Sales of the Fiat 500 were of just 528 units in October and 4,245 vehicles on a year-to-date basis, representing drops of 34% and 62% respectively. Sales of the Dodge Journey also increased at a two-digit pace in October, this time of 24% on sales of 5,835 units. Its year-to-date results are now up 3% to 83,068 vehicles. All three vehicles are built at FCA’s plant in Toluca, state of Mexico.

Ford

Ford Motor Company saw its U.S. sales decline 3.9% last October to 192,616 vehicles. In the first ten months of 2018 Ford sales were of 2,080,241 units, down 2.5%.

Sales of the Ford Fiesta hiked 65.7% in October to 5,665 vehicles. Its year-to-date sales totaled 42,183 vehicles, which represents a 6.6% gain compared to same ten-month period of 2017. Sales of the Ford Fusion decreased 9.1% to 15,932 vehicles, while its year-to-date deliveries are now of 140,896 units, down 20.5%.

The Lincoln MKZ saw a 26.9% drop in sales to 1,617 units in October and a decline of 28.6% to 16,538 vehicles in a year-to-date basis. Both the Fusion and the MKZ are built in Hermosillo, Sonora, while the Ford Fiesta for the U.S. market is sourced from Cuautitlan.

General Motors

General Motors announced in March that it would cease monthly sales reports in favor of quarterly reports. Next report will be available in early days of 2019.

Honda

Honda Motor Co. reported U.S. October sales of 122,182 Honda and Acura vehicles, a 4.1% drop versus October 2017. Year-to-date sales are down 2.2% to 1,329,179 units.

Since the flood of the Celaya plant back in late June, inventories of the Honda Fit have been very lean, which reflects on its sales that were 71% lower in October to just 920 units. Year-to-date deliveries of the compact hatchback are down 21.7% to 33,854 vehicles.

The HR-V crossover, which is in a similar situation, saw a 21.3% decrease in sales of 4,961 units. Its year-to-date sales totaled 74,940 vehicles, which represents an 6.7% drop. The HR-V is manufactured in Celaya, Guanajuato but also in El Salto, Jalisco.

KIA/Hyundai

Kia Motors America announced October sales of 45,102 vehicles, a 1.6% gain over the same month last year. Sales in the first ten months of 2018 totaled 497,144 units, which represents a decrease of 1%. Its sister brand Hyundai reported flat results in October on sales of 53,025 units, a figure that is just 15 vehicles higher than last year’s. Its year-to-date deliveries of 554,726 vehicles represent a 1.7% decline.

Sales of the Kia Rio were of 2,405 units in October for a 45.1% hike. Year-to-date sales are now of 19,696 units, which represents an increase of 44.7%.

The Kia Forte saw it sales increase 3.4% in October to 9,537 units. It was the brand’s best-selling vehicle in the U.S. market during last month. Its year-to-date sales totaled 84,425 vehicles, representing a decline of 16.6%.

Sales of the Hyundai Accent totaled 1,483 units in October, while the year-to-date figure was of 23,303 vehicles, representing decreases of 73% and 53.5% respectively. All three vehicles in this report are built in Pesqueria, Nuevo Leon.

Mazda

Sales of Mazda North American Operations in the U.S. market dropped 10.3% in October to 18,673 vehicles. Year-to-date sales through October are up 5.3% versus last year, with 253,795 vehicles sold.

Sales of the Mazda3 in sedan and hatchback versions totaled 4,093 units, representing a drop of 9.7%. Year-to-date deliveries are now of 55,387 vehicles, which represents an 14.3% decline. Both versions of the Mazda3 for the U.S. market are sourced from Salamanca, Guanajuato.

Nissan/Infiniti

Nissan Group announced U.S. sales for October of 109,962 units, a 10.6% decline compared to the previous year. Sales in the first ten months of 2018 totaled 1,234,644 vehicles, down 6.4%. Sales of the Nissan Versa, including both sedan and hatchback versions, sank 38.6% to 5,869 units in October. Year-to-date sales decreased 30.8% to 63,952 vehicles. The Nissan Sentra saw its sales drop 4% to 17,611 units in October, while its year-to-date deliveries are now 0.7% lower than last year to 182,758 vehicles.

October marked the fifth month of sales for the Nissan Kicks in the U.S., 3,264 units were sold, totaling 13,576 vehicles over those five months. In its seventh full month of sales at Infiniti retailers, the all-new 2019 QX50 totaled 3,160 deliveries in October for an estimate of 19,051 vehicles sold in the year so far. All Nissan models cited in this report are built at different plants in Aguascalientes, central Mexico.

Toyota

Toyota reported U.S. sales of 191,102 vehicles in October, a 1.4% increase compared to October 2017. Its year-to-date sales are now down 0.2% to 2,015,339 units. Sales of the Yaris iA, which is built by Mazda at its Guanajuato plant, decreased 58.8% to 1,102 vehicles. Year-to-date sales are down 27.5% to 22,665 units.

Sales of the Toyota Tacoma midsize pickup, built in Tijuana and San Antonio, Texas, hiked 29.9% to 20,534 units in October, and 25.3% in a year-to-date basis to 204,443 vehicles.

Volkswagen

Volkswagen reported sales of 29,000 units in October, an increase of 4.6% over same month of 2017. With 295,228 units delivered in the first ten months of 2018, the German automaker is reporting an 5.4% increase in year-over-year sales. Sales of the Golf family declined 36% to 3,005 units, and 38% in a year-to-date basis to 37,358 vehicles. All variants of the Golf family are built in Puebla, except for the e-Golf and the R-Line, which are made in Germany.

Sales of the Jetta totaled 10,148 units, up 10%, while year-to-date deliveries were of 71,337 vehicles, down 29%. One in three cars sold by Volkswagen in October was an all-new Jetta sedan. Sales of the Beetle were flat in October to 796 units. Year-to-date sales totaled 12,946 vehicles, which represented a decline of 2%.

Sales of the 2018 Tiguan totaled 7,097 units, an 84% hike compared to October 2017. Year-to-date sales are now of 74,329 SUVs. All Jetta, Beetle and 2018 Tiguan models for the U.S. are sourced from Puebla, Mexico.

MexicoNow

- Despite a marginal increase of 0.4%, US auto sales beat estimates in October

- Mexico auto sales dropped in October less than previously reported, revised data shows

- Canada auto sales dip in October for the seventh month in a row