Mexico's automotive industry delivered mixed results in August, with light-vehicle production declining year over year while exports increased, according to new data from the country's National Institute of Statistics and Geography (INEGI). Mexico has in recent years ranked as the United States' top source of imported vehicles, and the sector is a mainstay of the country's manufacturing exports.

Automakers built 344,940 light vehicles in Mexico during August, down 1.4% from 349,951 units in the same month a year earlier. Exports, meanwhile, totaled 300,475 vehicles, up 1.3% from 296,734 in August 2025 — an increase of 3,741 units year over year.

On a full-year basis, exports remain essentially unchanged. Mexico shipped 2.25 million light vehicles abroad from January through August, down 0.06%, or 1,262 vehicles, from the comparable 2025 period.

The United States continues to be by far the industry's most important foreign market, a concentration reinforced by tariff-free access for vehicles meeting regional content rules under the USMCA trade agreement. Mexico sent 1.72 million light vehicles to the U.S. during the first eight months of 2026, accounting for 76.3% of all vehicle exports. Canada ranked second with 281,502 vehicles, or 12.5% of the total, followed by Germany at 59,422 and Brazil at 38,956.

GM led Mexican vehicle production in August

General Motors was Mexico's largest light-vehicle producer during the month, manufacturing 79,230 units — an 18.1% increase from 67,088 a year earlier.

Nissan ranked second at 48,615 vehicles, but its output plunged 26% year over year. Stellantis produced 36,505 vehicles, down 3.8%, while Volkswagen raised production 3.5% to 35,634 units.

Kia built 28,883 vehicles, a 10.2% gain, while Ford Motor's output fell 25.7% to 27,770 units. Toyota produced 26,755 vehicles, down 3%.

BMW Group posted the largest percentage increase among major manufacturers, with August production jumping 359% year over year to 9,391 vehicles from 2,046. Honda's production climbed 30.7% to 16,488 units.

Mercedes-Benz moved in the opposite direction, with production collapsing 99% to just 50 vehicles in August, according to INEGI.

Source: INEGI. Production and export figures for August 2026 are preliminary.

Export results by automaker

INEGI's company-level data show GM was also the country's largest vehicle exporter in August, shipping 74,842 units abroad, up 16.8% year over year.

Nissan exported 38,881 vehicles, up 3.5%, while Stellantis exports jumped 15% to 36,497 units. Volkswagen's exports increased 3.5% to 29,491.

Ford recorded one of the sharpest declines among major exporters, with shipments tumbling 41.3% to 22,166 vehicles from 37,778 a year earlier. Mazda's exports fell 25.2% to 6,940 units.

Production and exports remain nearly flat for 2026

The August results did little to change the broader trend for Mexico's automotive industry this year.

Factories produced 2.65 million light vehicles from January through August, down 0.7% from 2.66 million during the same period in 2025. Light trucks made up 79.3% of Mexican vehicle production over the first eight months of the year, totaling 2.1 million units, compared with about 548,000 passenger cars. That product mix reflects the mix of models built in Mexico, where plants have increasingly focused on light trucks and SUVs for North American buyers.

GM led year-to-date production with 600,912 vehicles, up 4.2%. Stellantis output surged 20.8% to 309,688 vehicles, and Volkswagen production rose 17.3% to 259,193.

Nissan, however, has seen a substantial pullback. Its Mexican production declined 25.1% through August to 340,683 vehicles, versus 454,644 during the same period last year. Ford's production fell 4.4% to 267,557 vehicles.

More than three-quarters of Mexico's vehicle exports are destined for the U.S., making automotive production a major driver of cross-border freight and particularly sensitive to changes in U.S. trade policy. Upcoming INEGI monthly releases will show whether the diverging company-level trends — GM's gains against Nissan's pullback — carry into the final months of the year.

Source: FreightWaves