Overview
- INEGI reports January–September light‑vehicle production down 0.3% to 3,021,554 units and exports down 0.9% to 2,567,172, with September output off 6.1% to 355,525, exports off 0.3% to 314,656, and domestic sales up 0.3% to 117,181.
- Heavy‑truck manufacturing deteriorated sharply in September, with 6,857 units produced (‑59.3% year over year) and 5,196 exported (‑58.3%), while year‑to‑date output fell 34.5% and exports 29.1%, and internal sales also contracted steeply.
- Firm‑level strains included September production declines at General Motors (‑16.9%) and Volkswagen (‑17.7%) amid technical stoppages, Mazda’s exports down 46.4%, a 5.6% drop in electrified vehicle output to 15,971 units, and some offsets from Nissan’s export growth of 5.2%.
- The sector’s cooling has been widely linked to the 25% U.S. tariff on Mexican light‑vehicle imports in place for roughly six months under President Donald Trump, alongside concern over potential rule‑of‑origin changes in the T‑MEC review.
- Market readings remain contested as AMDA says adding sales from non‑reporting Chinese brands would show a 4.5% year‑to‑date gain versus INEGI’s decline, even as regional outliers such as Nuevo León post stronger results with exports up 8% and production up 8.5%.