Mexican auto industry accelerates toward historic production mark in 2024

The Mexican auto industry is on pace to break its all-time production record as it nears four million units assembled in 2024.

Data compiled by the national statistics agency INEGI indicates auto companies in Mexico produced 351,535 light vehicles in November, a 6.7% increase over November 2023. Total production in 2024 is now 3,764,490 units, well within range of the record set in 2017.

“These results confirm a new stage of expansion for the auto industry,” the Mexican Auto Industry Association (AMIA) said in a press release. “As a point of reference … we are just 168,000 units away from [the production record of 3,933,154].”

The top five cars produced in Mexico are the Chevrolet Equinox, the Toyota Tacoma, the Nissan Sentra, the Honda HRV and the Nissan Versa.

Mexican auto production in numbers

AMIA reported that seven of the 13 auto companies with factories in Mexico enjoyed production increases in November, particularly: 

  • Toyota (a nearly 300% increase over November 2023) 
  • General Motors (up 24.5%) 
  • KIA (up 10.7%) 

Luxury companies in the sector, however, saw red numbers:

  • Mercedes Benz (down 36.7%) 
  • Audi (-21.7%) 
  • BMW (-16.7%) 
Toyota saw a nearly 300% increase in production over November 2023. (Toyota)

Toyota is also seeing record sales this year, as reported by industry news site Cluster Industrial. The Japanese automaker sold 11,935 cars in Mexico in November, to reach 111,362 vehicles sold in 2024, surpassing last year’s total sales of 104,113. 

Toyota’s total sales in 2024 represent an 8.3% market share among industry sales and reflect a growing acceptance of hybrid vehicles, as hybrids represent 30% of Toyota’s sales this year.

Additionally, domestic sales of light vehicles by Mexican auto companies rose by 14.3% compared to November 2023, according to Cluster Industrial. Total domestic sales in 2024 reached 1,350,362 light vehicles as November came to a close.

Exports also grew by 2.8% year-on-year in November, as Mexico exported 289,309 cars with Japanese companies Toyota, Nissan and Honda leading the way.

This follows on the heels of the most successful October in history when Mexican auto producers exported 332,356 light vehicles.

The domestic industry has exported 3,213,132 light vehicles through the first 11 months of the year, easily within reach of the 3,300,876 light vehicles exported in 2023.  

With reports from El Economista and Cluster Industrial

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