Mexico’s auto exports fell 12 percent in September from a year earlier, the biggest slump of 2026 and the steepest since December 2025, as US tariffs took their toll, per data from statistics office INEGI released Wednesday. Monthly output dropped 15 percent while domestic sales rose 8 percent. Monex analyst Janneth Quiroz called the data “a warning sign rather than a crisis signal.”
Mexican cars face US tariffs of 25 percent, which officials estimate falls to 10 to 12 percent for models meeting North American-sourced-parts rules. GM, Ford and Nissan all posted significant export declines; Mercedes-Benz, which shuttered its Nissan joint plant last May, produced or exported zero cars in September, a first in its eight years of shipping abroad. Kia, BMW and Mazda picked up some of the slack, with Mazda more than doubling monthly exports. AMIA data show exports to the US down 5 percent in the first nine months of 2026 while Canada is up just over 9 percent, with Mexico still the top foreign supplier of cars to the US at 16 percent of light vehicles.