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By Stephen Downer
CORRESPONDENT
Published: April 14, 2014 1:18 pm ET
Updated: April 14, 2014 1:19 pm ET
MEXICO CITY — Mexico’s automotive industry assembled an unprecedented 774,731 light vehicles in the first quarter, 6.5 percent up on the 727,571 produced in the first three months of 2013, according to industry association AMIA.
Production in March was 277,314 units, 16.3 percent up on the total of 238,519 vehicles in the same month a year earlier, AMIA, which stands for Asociación Mexicana de la Industria Automotriz AC, said on its website.
AMIA attributed the growth partly to this year’s introduction of new assembly plants built by auto makers such as Nissan Motor Co Ltd in Aguascalientes, Honda Motor Co in Celaya and Mazda Motor Corp in Salamanca.
In a news release April 8, Nissan’s subsidiary in Mexico, Nissan Mexicana SA de CV, said its new Aguascalientes 2 assembly plant set a ramp up record for the Renault-Nissan Alliance of 32,770 vehicles in March.
In the first quarter Mexico exported 606,204 light vehicles, 8.6 percent more than a year earlier (558,375). The United States imported 70.7 percent of the total, compared with 67.1 percent in 2013, Latin America accounted for 10.5 percent (down from 11.2 percent), Canada 10 percent (up from 8.1 percent) and Europe (4.1 percent, down from 8.1 percent). | |
