Mexico auto industry wants more investment after Obama’s re-election

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Carmakers in the Latin American country will look for more investment, an increase in exports, and the maintenance of the free trade regime between Mexico, the USA and Canada, Eduardo Solís, head of the Mexico’s auto industry association Amia, told Steel First on Tuesday November 13.

“Free trade for us in new cars, as required by Nafta [the North American Free Trade Agreement], is essential for businesses in all three countries,” Solís said.

Mexican auto exports to the USA in October rose by 14% to 135,674 units, according to figures published by Amia.

Between January and October, exports to the USA reached 1.25 million units, 10.8% higher than in the same period last year.

Auto exports to the USA helped to improve competitiveness in the Mexican manufacturing sector, Guillermo Rosales Zarate, institutional relations director at the national association of automotive distributors, Amda, told Steel First.

“Mexican exports of finished vehicles and auto parts are gaining ground in the USA market,” he said.

With this in mind, “the potential for attracting more investment in the automotive sector is very viable and positive,” he added.

Challenges
The relationship with Mexico’s North American neighbour has not been completely positive, however.

In September this year, Amda asked the country’s president-elect, Enrique Peña Nieto, “to take necessary measures to stop the import of used vehicles from the USA”.

The number of used vehicles imported into Mexico between January and July was equivalent to 44.4% of total new car sales in the country over the same period, according to figures published by the association.

A total of 239,100 used vehicles were brought into the country between January and July this year.