Mexico's auto industry recorded a decline in production and exports in February 2026, attributed to US-imposed tariffs. According to INEGI data, light vehicle exports fell 4.4 percent, while production dropped 1.8 percent. This downturn highlights the sector's sensitivity to the US market, which absorbs 75.7 percent of exports.
Data from the National Institute of Statistics and Geography (INEGI) reveal that in February 2026, Mexico exported 247,945 light vehicles, a 4.4 percent reduction compared to the same month the previous year. Total production stood at 311,457 units, representing a 1.8 percent decline. For the January-February bimonthly period, exports showed a slight 1.4 percent increase, but with slowdown: January grew 2.3 percent, while February recorded the drop.
In January, total automotive exports fell 9.0 percent annually, with a 16.7 percent plunge to the United States, in contrast to a 35.9 percent increase to other markets. This confirms the issue lies with the US market, the sector's main destination. During the first bimonth of 2026, 75.7 percent of light vehicle exports went to the United States.
The impact extends to auto parts, which accumulated a 2.2 percent decline throughout 2025. The United States maintains 25 percent tariffs on imported automobiles since April 2025 and on certain auto parts since May of that year, though it grants temporary compensations for assemblers in its territory. Mexico benefits from T-MEC integration but is not immune.
In 2025, the auto parts industry reported production value of 119.02 billion dollars, a 2.21 percent contraction from 121.689 billion in 2024, equivalent to a loss of 2.687 billion dollars. Auto parts exports reached 103.508 billion dollars, 6 percent less than in 2024, with a loss of 2.571 billion dollars. 87 percent of these exports went to the United States, where Mexico maintained a 43.74 percent share in US auto parts imports.
Julio Galván Cruz, Economic Studies Manager at the National Auto Parts Industry (INA), stated: “2025 was full of challenges, full of doubt and uncertainty, but the information we have is good considering how the auto parts sector recovered throughout the year.” Despite initial drops of 8.9 percent from January to May 2025, there was recovery from June, with December growing 6.52 percent.
Mexico's auto industry retains advantages like scale and geographic proximity, but its design depends on supply chains synchronized with the United States. Tariffs affect not only finished vehicles but inventory decisions, parts location, and costs across the entire chain.
