Pickup Trucks Drive Automotive Manufacturing in Mexico

Pickup truck production in Mexico rose 14.%, with exports increasing 15.4% between January and September 2026, despite an overall decline in domestic automotive manufacturing, according to Adriana Ramírez, a representative of the Mexican Automotive Industry Association (AMIA).

Among January and September, plants located in Mexico produced 2,946,943 light vehicles. Although production volume declined by 2.4% year-over-year, pickup truck production grew by 14.8% and accounted for 31.5% of total domestic production.

SUVs remained the leading segment manufactured in Mexico, accounting for 47.4% of the total. As a result, SUVs and pickup trucks together accounted for 78.9% of the vehicles produced in the country, highlighting the importance of both models within the automakers' operations.

Another segment that stood out was luxury vehicle production, which rose by 1.4%, while minivan production increased by more than 229%, despite their small market share. Meanwhile, compact car production fell to 13.8% and subcompact car production to 1.7%.

In September, domestic production totaled 301,803 units, reflecting a 15.1% decline compared with the same month in 2025.

Finally, it was noted that between January and September, Mexico exported 2,528,623 light vehicles, a volume 1.5% lower than that recorded a year earlier, according to figures from the automotive industry.

Within this figure, exports of pickup trucks rose 15.4% and accounted for 32.6% of shipments. SUVs accounted for another 50.6%, meaning that these two categories together accounted for 83.2% of Mexican exports.