Mexico’s auto production drops 3.7% in July

6 August, 2018

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Assembly plants established in Mexico built 291,577 vehicles in July, according to the latest production report by the Mexican Auto Industry Association (AMIA). Such figure is 3.7% lower compared to the 302,716 units manufactured in the same month of 2017.

From January through July global automakers have built in Mexico 2,247,787 vehicles, just 0.1% more than those manufactured over the same seven-month period of 2017. Only a 1,732-vehicle difference, but still a record figure.

Fausto Cuevas, head of the AMIA, said at a press conference that during the seventh month of the year the companies that increased their production were FCA, with a 2.7% rise to 57,255 vehicles; General Motors with an increase of 6.6% and 64,821 units built; Mazda, 10.4% and 13,973 manufactured vehicles; Toyota, 7.2% to 10,751 vehicles and Volkswagen with 37.1% and 50,439 units.

Among the automakers that decreased their monthly production were Audi, with 15.5% less and 13,767 units; Ford Motor, with a drop of 20.8% and 16,714 units produced and Honda, with 84.9% and 2,311 units.

KIA, which last month started production of the next-gen Forte sedan in Nuevo Leon, also reported a drop of 24.1% after manufacturing 16,683 vehicles, and Nissan posted 13.8% decrease with the production of 44,863 units.

It is worth noting that Honda's production and export figures are being seriously affected because the Japanese automaker had to suspend production at its plant in Celaya, Guanajuato due to a flood that left much of the facility inoperable.

On the other hand, one factor that has contributed to the increase in production is the start-up of the Infiniti plant in Aguascalientes, which officially began operations last November.

Regarding exports, the total figures are still not available due to the fact that Nissan stopped providing its data to the AMIA. According to the association, if figures of the Japanese automaker are excluded, it results in a 5.5% drop in July exports to 214,084 units.

Despite the decline in July, the year-to-date production is 8.1% higher than last year with an estimated 1.66 million units in the first seven months of the year, compared to 1.54 million in the same period last year.

The companies that saw their exports reduced were FCA with 13.7%, Ford Motor with 43.7%; Audi with 6.0%, Honda, 76% and Kia with 28.2%.

Meanwhile, the automakers that increased their exports were General Motors with 19%, Mazda with 43.5%, Toyota with 6.9% and Volkswagen with 20%.

MexicoNow

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