Photo: Chrysler
Since 2002, Brazil has been the leading country in Latin America in terms of vehicle production, but with all of the news about automakers opening up shop in Mexico, Brazil’s run will likely end soon. According to a report from Automotive News, Mexico has already edged ahead of Brazil by May, and some analysts project it could hold that spot for the rest of the year.
Through May, Mexico’s vehicle production output grew by 7.2 percent for a total of 1.31 million vehicles, while Brazil’s output tumbled 14 percent during the same time period resulting in 1.27 million vehicles being produced. These numbers boost Mexico into the No. 7 spot on the list of the world’s top auto producers, and things should continue to get better for our neighbor to the south as its economy is currently growing at more than twice the pace as Brazil’s economy (2.8 percent versus 1.3 percent).
Helping increase Mexico’s output, of course, is the influx of automakers building new production facilities in that country. Recent news has Japanese automakers Nissan/Infiniti, Honda and Mazda as well as European automakers Mercedes-Benz, BMW and Audi all setting up shop in Mexico. Even Kia just announced that it, too, is looking to bring some production to Mexico.
More telling than anything else, though, is the exports to each country’s respective top importer. For Mexico, this would be the U.S. where 40 percent of Mexican-built vehicles are shipped to, and exports to the U.S. have increased by 19 percent this year. On the other hand, Brazil’s top market is Argentina, which has seen its imports of Mexican-made vehicles fall off by 28 percent.
In talking to various analysts, the Automotive News report came up with the same conclusion: Mexico is primed to take the Latin American automotive crown from Brazil. The only thing that has yet to be seen is when exactly this will happen. IHS Automotive projects that Mexico will take over the lead this year, while LMC Automotive doesn’t see the complete balance shifting until 2016.
Helping increase Mexico’s output, of course, is the influx of automakers building new production facilities in that country. Recent news has Japanese automakers Nissan/Infiniti, Honda and Mazda as well as European automakers Mercedes-Benz, BMW and Audi all setting up shop in Mexico. Even Kia just announced that it, too, is looking to bring some production to Mexico.
More telling than anything else, though, is the exports to each country’s respective top importer. For Mexico, this would be the U.S. where 40 percent of Mexican-built vehicles are shipped to, and exports to the U.S. have increased by 19 percent this year. On the other hand, Brazil’s top market is Argentina, which has seen its imports of Mexican-made vehicles fall off by 28 percent.
In talking to various analysts, the Automotive News report came up with the same conclusion: Mexico is primed to take the Latin American automotive crown from Brazil. The only thing that has yet to be seen is when exactly this will happen. IHS Automotive projects that Mexico will take over the lead this year, while LMC Automotive doesn’t see the complete balance shifting until 2016.
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