Mexican-made vehicle exports fell in July

In July the production and export of automobiles in the country observed a negative behavior, after adding three months of growth as a consequence of the rebound a year after the Covid-19 pandemic, informed this Friday the National Institute of Statistics and Geography (Inegi).

According to the Administrative Records of the Automotive Industry, the manufacturing of light vehicles in the 23 companies affiliated to the Mexican Automotive Industry Association (AMIA), as well as Giant Motors Latin America and Autos Orientales Picacho decreased 26.5 percent in the seventh month for the same period in 2020.

In July, the automotive industry assembled 301,815 units, a decrease of 79,972 units compared to the same period last year. This is the first drop in production in four months, in which a rebound growth was observed as a consequence of the lack of car production in that period due to the closing of plants to avoid Covid-19 contagion in 2020.

In January and February of this year, light vehicle manufacturing also performed negatively. Between January and July of this year, the industry has assembled 1,512,124 units, an amount that translates into an increase of 20.20 percent to the same period last year, as 305,420 more cars were produced than in 2020.

Mazda reported the highest increase in units assembled in July, which was 23.7 percent over the same period last year. However, Volkswagen saw its production decrease by 52.4 percent year-on-year in the seventh month. After adding three consecutive months of growth in exports, the automotive industry saw a 23.6 percent drop in July in the same month of 2020.

This is also the first decrease shown by the country's most important export sector after a period of positive performance, after reporting negative figures in January, February, and March.

In July, the automakers established in the country exported 264,520 units abroad, which translated into 62,499 fewer light vehicles compared to the same month in 2020. The drop also occurs after the rebound effect was observed in the previous three months, one year after the Covid-19 pandemic. Between January and July, the industry sold 1,316,508 cars, an increase of 22.04 percent compared to the same period last year.

Mazda reported the highest growth in exported vehicles in the seventh month, increasing 91.6 percent compared to the same period last year. In contrast, Ford Motor reported the steepest drop, which was 75.7 percent year-over-year.