LATIN AMERICA
BY CHARLES W. THURSTON
LATIN AMERICAN CORRESPONDENT
THURSTONCW@RODPUB.COM
Mexico’s automotive industry
ramps up exports
Exports by Mexico’s automotive industry to
North America were up a surprising 25% in
January, compared with the prior-year
month, boding well for suppliers of automotive
paint and coatings. Total Mexican automotive
exports to North America amounted to 92,000 units
in January, while exports from Mexico to Europe
amounted to 17,000 units—an increase of almost
83% in the month-to-month comparison, according
to data from Asociacion Mexicana de la Industria
Automotriz (AIMA) in Mexico City. During full-year
2007, Mexico’s automotive exports grew five percent on production growth of 2.2%, while domestic
sales fell 3.5%.
“Mexico’s automotive production has grown
robustly—approximately ten percent per year
over the past three years—to two million
vehicles, and looking forward, we expect the
volume to continue to grow by approximately
five percent per year to 2.8 million vehicles in
2014,” said David A. Fischer, the global market manager for DuPont OEM automotive finishes, Troy, MI. “We are pleased that Mexico is
growing and that we are in a good position to
take advantage of that growth.”
DuPont has both a production facility and
a research/applications laboratory in
Mexico, serving the domestic and export
markets. Last year, DuPont gained new
business in Mexico from Volkswagen at its
plant in Puebla, the capital of Puebla state.
While Volkswagen and Toyota both have
added production capacity in Mexico over
the past year, other majors also are boosting
Mexico investments. GM is expected to start
production next year at a $600 million plant
in San Luis Potosi, the capital of the state of
San Luis Potosi. Additionally, a new entrant
to the market will be China’s First
Automobile Works Group, which in
November indicated it would build a plant
in Zinapecuaro, in Michoacan state, through
a joint venture with the Salinas Group, with
plans to start production in 2010.
Similarly, an expanding player in Mexico’s
automotive supplier market is DESC-CIE
Automotive, which is expected soon to open a
$52 million factory in Saltillo, in Coahuila
With positive
GDP growth
forecast for
the year,
Mexico will
continue to
boost its
automotive
exports.
“The forecast for Mexico’s
GDP expansion this year is
as high as 3.25%, according
to the Mexican government.”
state, which will paint and line pickup beds for
Chrysler. The joint venture, which was established in 2005, is being funded by Spain’s CIE
Automotive, which has plans to invest $200
million in Mexico over the next five years, targeting the NAFTA automotive market. DESC-CIE also supplies Ford, GM and Volkswagen.
Despite its close economic linkage to the
U.S. economy, Mexico is growing a bit faster
than the U.S. Mexico’s gross domestic product increased by 3.7% during third-quarter
2007, but the full-year estimate for 2007
growth was recently cut to 2.9%. U.S. GDP
growth last year was 2.2%. The forecast for
Mexico’s GDP expansion this year is as
high as 3.25%, according to the Mexican
government.
Nevertheless, Mexico’s GDP per capita is
now in the $12,500 range, which suggests
more Mexican families can purchase automobiles, auto parts and paint. Recent legislation
in Mexico will also facilitate the purchase of
vehicles from the U.S. CW
