Mexico Passing Brazil as Top Latin American Car Producer
Mexico Passing Brazil as Top Latin American Car Producer
By Brendan Case and Christiana Sciaudone July 07, 2014
Mexico is poised to overtake Brazil as the top Latin American automobile producer for the first time in more than a decade as surging exports to the U.S. spur factory openings and record output.
After nosing ahead of Brazil in the first six months of the year, Mexico is projected to hold its advantage through 2014, for the first full-year lead since 2002, according to consultant IHS Automotive.
Mexico’s ascent is being fueled in part by auto sales (F:US) running at the fastest pace in almost eight years in the U.S., the country’s largest market. The boom coincides with a slump in Brazilian production through June as domestic demand cools, setting up a shift in leadership of the Latin American industry faster than analysts predicted.
The wind is in our sails” in Mexico, said Luis Lozano, lead automotive partner at PricewaterhouseCoopers LLP, in a telephone interview from Mexico City. “People talk about the energy and telecom industries in Mexico, but the auto industry is going to continue as the icon of this country.”
More:
http://www.businessweek.com/news/2014-07-07/mexico-passing-brazil-as-top-latin-american-car-producer
