Mexico reports sharp rise in auto exports

Mexico reported a surge in auto exports as its domestic markets stagnated.

The country's auto exports rose by 57.9 percent year-on-year in July, and advanced by 79.2 percent in the first seven months year-on-year, the Mexican Auto Industry Association (AMIA) said Tuesday.

The upsurge was mainly attributed to increased exports to the United States, AMIA President Eduardo Solis told a press conference.

"We remain closely linked to the U.S. for good or ill," he said, adding that the giant northern neighbor currently represents 68.5 percent of all Mexican car exports.

"The U.S. is a very depressed market but it is a market which could sell 16 million units a year in the next two to three years," he said.

Mexico exported 408,000 cars in the first seven months of this year and the year's total is estimated at around 700,000 units.

AMIA also reported a rise in Mexico's auto sales to Asia, up nearly 654 percent year-on-year in July.

Asia now represents around three percent of Mexican auto sales.

On the other hand, Mexico's domestic market currently remains stagnant, despite substantial government support.

The country saw more corporate clients renewing fleets of cars, but thin individual buyers, said Luis Gomez Sanchez, president of the Mexican Auto Dealers Association.

"We are realizing that the forecasts we had made for around 800,000 cars this year will not be reached," Gomez told a press conference.

AMIA's Solis said that should Mexican new car purchases reach the levels seen in Latin American peers like Brazil and Argentina, Mexico's auto industry could be employing 600,000 more workers.
(Source:xinhua)