Mexico’s auto parts output hit a record high in July, but assembled vehicle production and exports are declining

Mexico’s auto parts production registered record figures in July, while the country’s automotive industry experienced double-digit declines in both vehicle production and exports in September. 

The National Auto Parts Industry (INA) released the July figures this week, reporting that production grew 7.15% in July compared to a year earlier, reaching a value of US $10.85 billion.

As the main supplier of auto parts to the United States, Mexico accounted for 43.6% of total U.S. imports of parts and components in July.

INA’s monthly report for July 2026 showed that between January and July, cumulative auto parts production reached US $74.68 billion, an 8.8% increase compared to the first seven months of 2025.

The increase occurred even as the United States reduced purchases of auto parts from around the world this year (reflecting its own 1.5% drop in car production).

The auto parts sector recorded exports of US $64.96 billion and imports of US $43.315 billion during the first seven months of the year, generating a trade surplus of US $21.643 billion.

Meanwhile, Mexico’s auto production registered its worst drop in nearly five years as vehicle assembly fell 15.1% year-on-year in September. At the same time, shipments abroad decreased 11.8%, the biggest drop since December of last year.

According to national statistics agency INEGI, automakers based in Mexico manufactured 301,803 light vehicles last month, 15.1% less than the 355,589 units assembled in September 2025.

This decline is the steepest for a month since November 2021, when auto production contracted 17.3%, amidst the COVID-19 pandemic and a global shortage of semiconductors.

The decline also impacted the year-to-date balance, as production reached 2,946,943 vehicles through September, 2.42% less than the 3,020,006 assembled in the same period of 2025.

Meanwhile, exports totaled 277,369 units in September, a drop of 11.85%, the largest decrease since December 2025, when shipments fell 14.5%.

In terms of export volume, this represented the lowest level for a September since 2021 (during the pandemic), when shipments abroad registered a drop of 24%.

Despite this, Mexico maintains its position as the leading supplier of vehicles to the United States, even as its exports face a tariff disadvantage (Mexican vehicles pay a tariff of up to 25%, while those from Japan and South Korea face a rate of just 15%).