In September 2026, vehicle production and exports registered a decline , placing the Mexican automotive industry in negative territory, according to the Administrative Registry of the Automotive Industry of Light Vehicles (RAIAVL), published by the National Institute of Statistics and Geography (Inegi) .
During the ninth month of the year, the automakers installed in Mexico manufactured 301,803 light vehicles , which represented a decrease of 15.13% compared to the 355,589 units manufactured in September 2025.
Meanwhile, the accumulated production between January and September stood at 2,946,943 units , a decrease of 2.42% compared to the 3,020,006 cars registered in the same period last year.
In the cycle, light trucks accounted for 79% of total production , with 2,329,189 units. The remaining 21% was made up of cars, with 617,754 units.
In the first nine months of 2026, the brands that stood out in their production at Mexican plants were Stellantis , with an 18.9% increase, totaling 345,522 units compared to 290,685 vehicles produced in the same period last year. Volkswagen also showed strong manufacturing results with a 14.6% increase, reaching 286,668 units compared to 250,124 in the same period of 2025.
In contrast, Nissan’s production fell 25.2% during January-September of this year. Mazda’s production decreased by 15.7%, and Ford Motor’s fell by 5.7% year-on-year.
Exports slow down
Exports totaled 277,369 vehicles in September 2026 , a decrease of 11.85% compared to the 314,656 units sent abroad during the same month of 2025.
In January-September, 2,528,623 light vehicles were placed in international markets , a drop of 1.50% compared to the 2,567,172 units of the same period last year.
In total, the United States remained the primary destination for vehicles manufactured in Mexico, accounting for 76.4% of exports , with 1,931,750 units. Canada followed with 314,185 vehicles, representing 12.4%. Germany received 64,963 units, equivalent to 2.6% of the total.
By brand, Stellantis stood out in total exports with 316,533 vehicles shipped abroad, representing a 30.2% year-over-year increase. Volkswagen followed with 233,165 vehicles, 16.8% more than in 2015. KIA saw a 10.3% year-over-year increase with 177,727 vehicles. Conversely, Nissan’s exports fell by 29.5% in the first nine months of 2016; Ford Motor experienced a 10.8% drop, and Toyota registered a 4.6% year-over-year decrease.
With these results, the Mexican automotive sector closed September with a contraction.
The behavior of the coming months will be crucial in determining whether the decline represents a temporary adjustment in manufacturing and exports or a sign of a more prolonged slowdown for the Mexican automotive industry, which represents almost 4% of the national Gross Domestic Product (GDP) and about 20.5% of the manufacturing GDP, according to the Mexican Automotive Industry Association (AMIA) .
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