Light vehicle production grows 9% in Mexico
By Dinorah Becerril
January 16, 2023
Mexico reached the production of 3,308,346 light vehicles in 2022 , an increase of 9.24% compared to 2021, reported the National Institute of Statistics and Geography (Inegi).
This growth is positioned above the expectations of the Mexican Association of the Automotive Industry (AMIA) of 7.6% at an annual rate projected for this year.
According to the Administrative Registry of the Automotive Industry of Light Vehicles (RAIAVL), in January-December 2022, 279,865 more units were produced than in the same period of 2021, when a total production of 3,028,481 light vehicles was reached.
Only in December, 239,536 light vehicles were produced, an increase of 4.45% at the annual rate, from the 229,337 registered in December 2021, which shows a difference of 10,199 more units.
The brands that significantly increased their production during 2022. JAC stands out with a 446% variation as its production went from 3,126 in 2021 to 17,074 vehicles in 2022.
Ford is in the top with an increase of 39% to 303,419 units. General Motors and Audi followed with increases of 31 and 29%, respectively, to 743,246 and 178,000 vehicles, each among the most significant.
In contrast, Nissan posted a 27.1% drop in its 2022 production to 391,002 from the reported 536,323 light-duty vehicles in 2021.
Honda and BMW Group also resulted in lower production in January-December 2022 to 126,319 and 63,465 units, that is, 17 and 7.9% less than the same period in 2021.
They put accelerator in December
Audi, JAC and Mazda ramped up their light vehicle production in December. For example, JAC and Mazda practically doubled unit production in the last month of the year, registering increases of 92.4 and 100.2% compared to the same month in 2021, to 2,365 and 13,243 from 1,229 and 6,614 cars.
For its part, Audi reported an increase of 315.3%, going from 3,395 vehicles produced in December 2021 to 14,099 in the same month of 2022.
Regarding exports, these increased 5.86% at an annual rate in 2022 compared to 2021 to 2,865,641 from 2,706,980 light vehicles, that is, 158,661 more units.
Regarding the domestic market, 1,086,058 units were sold in 2022, 7% more than in 2021.