Mexico Produces Fewer Cars in May; Exports Grow

The volatile performance of the U.S. automotive market led to a 3.7% decline in the production of light and medium-duty vehicles in Mexico during May, with the month ending at a volume of nearly 343,000 units, according to preliminary figures from INEGI.

With this decline of more than 13,000 vehicles compared to May 2025, cumulative production from January through May reached 1,642,083 units—nearly 1,500 fewer vehicles than in the same period last year, representing a marginal drop of just -0.1%.

Despite this decline in production, vehicle exports increased by 1.7% in May, totaling 306,288 units.

With this result, cumulative exports for the first five months of the year amount to 1,388,023 vehicles, a volume that exceeds that of the same period in 2025 by 4%.

This trend reflects that a year ago, more cars and trucks were produced in Mexico, but a higher percentage of them were destined for the domestic market.

However, the figures reveal that the destination of light and medium-duty vehicles produced in the country shifted slightly when it comes to foreign markets.

Of the total units exported this year, 75.4% were shipped to the United States, equivalent to 1,047,208 vehicles. This figure represents a 3% decline compared to the volume for the January–May 2025 period.

A year ago, the volume of units exported to our main trading partner accounted for 80.9% of the total, which amounted to 1,079,690 vehicles.

Picking Up Speed

While most automakers operating in the country reduced their production in May, the decline was largely offset by Stellantis, which bucked the trend by reporting a 50.6% increase, totaling 46,441 units.

With this result, the multinational has produced nearly 195,000 pickups, SUVs, and commercial vans so far this year, a volume that exceeds that of the first five months of 2025 by 37%.

Volkswagen also picked up the pace to close the month with production of nearly 31,000 units, representing a 6.9% increase over the same period last year.

Between January and May, the German automaker accumulated a volume of nearly 165,000 units, marking a 34% increase.

Honda increased its monthly production by 4.7%, surpassing 19,000 vehicles, including those from its luxury division, Acura.

In total, the Japanese firm’s volume this year amounts to nearly 91,000 units, representing a 6.4% increase compared to the same period in 2025.

Its compatriot Mazda reported a slight increase of 1.6% in production, with nearly 12,500 vehicles produced in May. However, its cumulative volume from January to May, at just under 63,000 units, represents a drop of -27.5%.

On the Decline

As for the automakers that reported the largest drops in production, Mercedes-Benz stands out, having concluded operations in the country on May 15 with the production of its last vehicle at the COMPAS plant in Aguascalientes.

The premium brand wrapped up operations with the production of fewer than 1,900 units, a decline of 61.2% compared to the result from a year ago. Meanwhile, its total production for 2026 was 21,755 SUVs.

Data from INEGI indicate that the automaker produced a total of 518,340 vehicles, including A-Class sedans and GLB SUVs, during the nearly eight years it shared the manufacturing facility with Infiniti, Nissan’s luxury division.

BMW joined the double-digit declines with a monthly plunge of -25.6% in production, totaling 6,610 units. The Bavarian automaker has accumulated a volume of just over 33,000 vehicles so far this year, representing a decline of -19.8%.

Nissan reported a similar result with production of 46,573 vehicles in May, or a drop of -23.6%. The Japanese brand’s volume between January and May totals more than 205,000 units, translating to a negative variation of -27.3%.

Audi recorded a significant decline of -14.5% in production, with just under 12,000 units. However, the German brand has accumulated a volume of nearly 62,400 SUVs for the year, a figure that exceeds the first five months of 2025 by 23.1%.

Ford reduced its May volume by -13.6%, ending the month with more than 36,000 vehicles assembled at its two plants. The Blue Oval brand has produced over 171,000 units in the country, a figure 6.6% lower than the result from a year ago.

Toyota reported monthly production of 26,262 pickups and a total annual volume of 130,683 units. These figures represent declines of 4.3% and 1.9%, respectively.

General Motors reduced its production pace by 4% to produce 76,501 units last month, while its total volume of 367,532 vehicles still exceeds that of the January-May 2025 period by 1.4%.

Finally, South Korea’s Kia reported a monthly volume of 25,260 vehicles, just 40 units fewer than in May of last year. In contrast, its production for the first five months totals 126,825 units, which is 8.3% higher than last year’s result.