Following the fall in production and exports due to the pandemic, marginal growth was recorded in July.
During the month of July, there was a 0.7% increase in light vehicle production in Mexico, with 294,946 units assembled, 1,911 more than in the same month of 2019.
For the cumulative from January to July, 1,467,644 cars were manufactured, representing a drop of 35.5% compared to the same period last year, when 806,878 units were produced.
In the case of exports, the fall was 5.5% in July when 256,098 vehicles were shipped abroad, for a difference of 14,806 units less than in the same month of the previous year. For the first seven months of the year, 1,274,517 units were exported, representing a decrease of 36.8%, compared to that exported in the same period of 2019, i.e. 743,200 units were discontinued abroad.
“In relation to the production and export figures and reports, both July and the cumulative of the first seven months of the year, the results are better than expected,” said Fausto Cuevas, General Manager of the Mexican Association of the Automotive Industry (AMIA), at the monthly conference in the sector.
The manager explained that while growth is marginal, it is returning to the levels of production that were before the pandemic, although he felt that it will still be difficult for the 800,000 units to be produced at the end of the year.
The main destination for Mexican car exports was the United States, followed by Canada and Germany. And since 85.8% of the shipments went to the North American market, the good news, says Fausto Cuevas, is that despite the low demand in the United States, Mexico still has a 13.6% share in the U.S. car market.
In terms of production, the expectation for the end of the year improved, as total sales for this 2020 are projected to amount to USD 75,308 million, which would be a decrease of 23% and not 32% forecast in June or 45% that had been expected at the start of the pandemic in April and May.
“New car manufacturing volumes in Mexico, the United States and Canada are mostly in products such as pickups and SUVs, they are being very good for the most part, and this makes our auto parts production for the second half also good,” said Oscar Albin, executive chairman of the National Auto parts Industry (INA).
The industry leader said the American buyer is reacting favorably, so if not for a re-outbreak of COVID-19 that forces a new stoppage of activities, the auto parts industry will meet the forecasts for the end of the year and would virtually lead to 2019 production levels when it reached $97.834 million in sales.
