During 2018, the
Coahuila as well as Mexican automotive industry in general kept their levels regarding
production and export of cars despite the renegotiation of the North American
Free Trade Agreement (NAFTA) which resulted on the new signing of the new
United States, Mexico and Canada Agreement (USMCA.)
According to figures
provided by the National Institute of Statistics and Geography (INEGI, by its
Spanish initials) and the Mexican Automotive Industry Association (AMIA, by its
Spanish initials) last year, 10 States concentrated 97.5 % of the automotive
and trucks production in the country, among which Coahuila monopolizes the
second step nationally.
The States that stood out
for the manufacturing of vehicles were Sonora with 16.2 % of the total value of
national production; Coahuila, with 15.9 %; and Puebla, with 13.6 percent. Followed by Estado de Mexico, with 12.7 % of
the total value of production; Guanajuato, with 10.4 %; Nuevo Leon, with 8.6 %;
Aguascalientes, 6.8 %; production; Guanajuato, with 10.4 %; Nuevo Leon, with
8.6 %; Aguascalientes, 6.8 %; Baja California, 5.5 %; Morelos, with 5.2 %; and
San Luis Potosi, with 2.6 percent.
While the creation of
auto-parts, Coahuila led this sector, by producing 18.1 % of the auto-parts
manufactured nationally; surpassing states such as Nuevo Leon, which
contributes with 11.4 %; and Puebla, with 10.4 %, being the only entity located
on the first places in the manufacturing of vehicles and auto-parts.
In Coahuila the automotive
sector is very important regarding other manufacturing industries, representing
more than half (63.4 %) of the manufacturing production of the entity. Automotive companies are located in the State
such as Fiat Chrysler Automobiles (FCA,) Daimler, Freightliner and General
Motors (GM,) in Derramadero and Ramos Arizpe, respectively.
The document “Knowing the
Automotive Industry” details that in Coahuila the production of automobiles and
trucks represents 24.8 % of the manufacturing production in the State and one
of its main supplies is the manufacturing of parts for vehicles that
contributes with 22.1 % of the manufacturing production, locating as one of the
States with more economic activities related with the automotive industry that
registers regarding the manufacturing production.
During 2018, the automotive
industry contributed 3.7 % of the national GDP and 20.2 % of the manufacturing
GDP, being the second economic activity with the highest participation in
manufacturing GDP of the food industry.
From 2010 to 2018, the GDP
of the automotive industry grew 12.3 % average in real terms, impacting 90
economical activities in the secondary sector, and 70 in commerce and
services. Therefore, one of every five
jobs on manufacturing industries belong to the automotive sector.
EXPORT TO THE RISE
In 2018, national export of
vehicles grew 6.4 %, regarding the year before, with the shipment of 3 million
449.201 units, according to INEGI. with this
figure, today from every 100 vehicles sold in the American market, 15.1 % comes
from Mexico.
Assemblers with the highest
number of exports in 2018 were General Motors with 811,954 vehicles and a
growth of 17 %; FCA with 626,677 vehicles, a 6.3 % more than the year before;
and Nissan, with 496,333 thousand units for a growth of 5.8 percent.
On these sectors, Coahuila
has consolidated as the leading exporter State, thanks to its two assemblers
(FIAT Chrysler and General Motors) and the competitive advantages offered by
the State to the Mexican Market.
Eduardo Solis, president of
the Mexican Automotive Industry Association (AMIA, by its Spanish initials)
explained that this increase resulted from a higher activity of the industry in
the shipment of trucks, which have seen a higher demand abroad, mainly in the
United States. “The automotive industry
continues to demonstrate that it is a fundamental sector for the economy,” he
said.
The SUV Chevrolet Equinox
manufactured in the GM complex in Ramos Arizpe, the fourth most exported
vehicle only surpassed by Silverado Pickup, the SUV Jeep Compass and the Sedan
Nissan Sentra. Ford Fusion completes the
top 5 of these lists, which represents almost 32 % of the total of units sent
abroad.
“These five models represent
35.9 % of the total of vehicles assembled in Mexico for other markets, mainly
for the United States, destination representing 75 % of the national total
exports,” said the directive.
In second place was Canada
with 7,4 %; followed by Germany with 4.4 %; Brazil with 2.3 %; and Colombia
with 1.6 %. “With the USMCA free trade
will be kept among the three countries and that is the most important thing for
the industry,” said Solis.
Regarding production, 3
million 908,139 vehicles were manufactured, a volume practically similar to the
one from the year before.
2019 Outlook
For Eduardo Solis, 2019
will be a year of growth and without rapid changes in the Mexican automotive
industry, despite that companies are prepared for the new rules in
international trade matters with the USMCA, which will be valid as of 2020.
Meanwhile, the president of
La Laguna Automotive Cluster, Jose Luis Hotema de Santiago assured that
investments will continue to arrive in Coahuila, therefore he anticipated that
for 2020 this sector will be strengthened and reaching a production of up to 5
million units per year.
“Investments will continue
to be generated in Coahuila, remains to settle MAGNA and the installation of
the Asian assembler, this will be without doubt two important achievements, as
before that the supply chain will also grow in a very significant way,” he
declared.
The arrival of Asian
investments is expected in La Laguna including the so mentioned assembler,
which will trigger the automotive industry in the region, as according to Jaime
Guerra Perez, secretary of Economy in Coahuila, the importance of attracting
assemblers to the State is because together with it are coming about 40
companies that will generate more jobs on the different regions of Coahuila. “At least it will bring 40 additional
companies, as country we know that Mexico is very attractive for Asia and
China, as is a logistic center for its more than 40 Treaties,” he
referred.
“We will see the different
assemblers, we are a strong automotive State and we continue working in
attracting more assemblers,” said during his visit to the North American
International Auto Show, celebrated in Detroit, Michigan.
RAM MANUFACTURED IN
SALTILLO WAS AWARDED
One of the vehicles that
contributed the most to the historical levels of production and exports is the
RAM 1500, assembled at the FCA Derramadero, Coahuila complex, since it was the
model most shipped from Mexico during 2017 and recently was awarded with the
prize as the truck of the year at the Auto Show 2019, recognition that joins
the ones achieved in the last year at the Truck of Texas and Motor Trend.
The distinction of the
truck of the year, was at Detroit, Michigan, United States, where the launching
of the RAM Heavy Duty 2019 was also held, also produced in Saltillo.
Regarding this, the mayor
of Saltillo, Manolo Jimenez Salinas noted that the capital of Coahuila is today
a national power which has an industrial zone that produces 28,000 million dollars
per year. “Thousands of vehicles are
assembled per year, and one of these vehicles is the RAM, which is the most
awarded truck worldwide,” he underlined.
The main destinations for
the RAM 1500, model dedicated to cargo and small business movement, are the
United States and Canada, as both countries monopolize the 99 % of exports.
The North American
International Auto Show (NAIAS) is an international event in which the most
standing out companies from the automotive sector participate, aiming to show
their most recent innovations, programs and technologies.
