México: FDI falls in cars and rises in parts
The flows of Foreign Direct Investment (FDI) to Mexico registered a decrease in the manufacture of cars and trucks and an increase in the production of auto parts in 2021, reported the Ministry of Economy.
On the one hand, Mexico received 1,303.9 million dollars of FDI in the assembly of cars and trucks, a decrease of 53% compared to 2020 and a drop of 69.6% compared to 2019.
Established automakers in Mexico include Audi, Baic Group, BMW, Stellantis (made up of FCA and PSA Group), Ford, General Motors, Honda, Kia, Mazda, Nissan, Toyota, and Volkswagen.
Regarding the trucking industry, among the companies that operate production plants in Mexico, Cummins, Detroit Diesel Allison, Freightliner–Daimler, Kenworth Mexicana, Mack Trucks de México, International-Navistar, Dina Trucks, Scania, Volvo Group VW, Man Truck & Bus, Mercedes-Benz, Hino Motors and Isuzu Motors.
On the other hand, Mexico attracted 3,963.7 million dollars of FDI in the manufacture of auto parts, an advance of 207% compared to 2020 and 27.8% compared to 2019.
Featured companies include, for example: Bosch, Magna, Hitachi Automotive Systems, Delphi, Michelin, Lear Corporation, Johnson Controls and Denso.
Cars
From 1999 to 2021, the capture of FDI from Mexico in the production of cars and trucks is 35,176 million dollars and that corresponding to auto parts totals 48,755 million dollars.
From the angle of, say, the Lear Corporation, its sales are driven by the number of vehicles produced by automakers, which ultimately depends on the availability of raw materials and components and consumer demand for motor vehicles, and its content per vehicle.
In 2020, unprecedented industry disruptions related to the Covid-19 pandemic, particularly in the first half of the year, affected Lear Corporation’s operations in all regions of the world.
Although industry production increased 3% in 2021 over 2020, production remains well below recent historical levels and consumer demand.
Production in the second half of 2021 decreased 16% relative to the second half of 2020.
This was largely due to the ongoing impact of the pandemic in 2021, particularly through supply shortages.
The most significant supply shortages relate to semiconductor chips, which impacted global vehicle production and resulted in planned production curtailments and cancellations.
