Kia’s Mexican sales may offer solutions to U.S. border tax

10 February, 2017

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Kia Motors Corp. sales in Mexico folded by five from a year earlier in 2016, suggesting a possible solution to a proposed U.S. tax on foreign-made cars that could affect its vehicles produced in Nuevo Leon, market observers and a Korean trade agency (KOTRA) told The Korea Herald.

In 2016, Kia Motors sold 58,112 vehicles in Mexico, up 427.3% from a year earlier, an increase followed the opening of the company's new production facility in Pesqueria, Nuevo Leon, earlier in the year. During January, sales again climbed 85.9% to 5,780 cars in January, according to data released by the Mexican Automotive Industry Association (AMIA).

Also, South Korea’s second biggest automaker reported overall sales in Central and South American countries jumped 22.7 percent on-year to 196,938 cars last year.

Market observers consulted by The Korea Herald believe the rise in sales in Mexico and other Central and South American countries may offer a solution to Kia.

"Mexico has signed free trade agreements with over 40 countries, meaning there are many new markets Kia could explore under the benefits of Mexico's free-trade agreements," a KOTRA official said to The Korea Herald.

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