Mexico’s auto production and exports in the first seven months of 2014 hit record highs

Mexico’s auto production and exports in the first seven months of 2014 hit record highs, rising 7.5 percent and 11.2 percent, respectively, from the same period of last year.

The AMIA industry association said both output and exports of light vehicles climbed to historically high levels, “both for the month and the cumulative” January-July period.

In the first seven months, automakers manufactured 1.85 million vehicles, “83.1 percent of which correspond to units destined for export and the remaining 16.9 percent for the domestic market.”

A total of 1.5 million vehicles were exported during that same period, 71.5 percent of them to the United States.

Domestic sales grew just 1.3 percent to 596,571 units in the year’s first seven months.

Automakers operating in Mexico not only sell the vehicles they assemble in the Latin American country, but also those imported from subsidiaries in other regions of the world.

Between January and July, the biggest-selling car brands in Mexico were Nissan (151,106 vehicles), General Motors (115,419) and Volkswagen (88,798).

In July, auto production rose 8.5 percent from the same month of last year to 259,634 units, while exports climbed 20.2 percent to 231,934 vehicles.

A total of 96,211 vehicles were sold domestically last month, an 11 percent increase over July 2013.

Chrysler, Fiat, Ford, General Motors, Honda, Nissan, Toyota and Volkswagen are the largest automakers in Mexico.