MEXICO CITY (BDCi) – Mexico is close to overtaking Brazil’s position as the top producer of automobiles in Latin America for the first time in over ten years.
The surge of exports to the U.S. that spurred factory openings and record output helped Mexico get ahead in the first five months of the this year and it is expected to keep its advantage over Brazil through 2014.
Mexico can also thank the U.S.’s fastest auto sales in almost eight years for its recent ascent, which happen to coincide with a slump in Brazilian production.
Brazil’s output has fallen 14 percent this year.
As the shift in Latin American leadership takes place sooner than analysts expected, Mexico is ready to be the 7th largest auto producer in the world.
China and the U.S. hold the top spots.
Eight out of every ten cars produced in Mexico are exported, and more than half of those are imported into the U.S.
By: Diego Díaz Source: Bloomberg News Photo: Washington Post 7 July 2014
09:05 a.m. P.D.T.