According to Bloomberg, Diego Camargo, CEO of the BMW Group Mexico, predicts that due to the weak exchange rate of “Biso exchanged for the US dollar”, and due to the potential tariff measures of the next President Donald Trump or exacerbating trade tensions, the Mexican economy Growth or slowing down, the growth of car sales in Mexico next year may face a weak trend.
Diego Camargo said in a telephone interview that Mexico’s total sales of new cars this year may achieve double -digit growth, but the total sales of new cars in Mexico may not change much compared with this year. He said that the sales of Mexican luxury cars this year may increase “0.5%to 1.5%”, and it is expected that “the market size will remain unchanged” next year.
Diego Camargo said that Trump threatened a 25%tariff on products from Mexico and imposed 10%tariffs on products imported from China, which increased the potential uncertainty of Mexico’s economic and currency prospects.
After the intensive trade tensions, Mexican analysts quickly lowered the expectations of Mexico’s economic growth next year. Bloomberg Economics estimates that Mexican’s economic growth is expected to slow down for the fourth consecutive year, and the potential high tariffs in the United States may reduce the GDP of Mexico nearly 11%.
Although Trump’s potential tariff threats have pose a huge threat to the Mexican automobile industry, Diego Camargo said that the BMW Group benefited from Mexico’s extensive global free trade agreement network, not just the “US-Mexico-Canada Agreement” (USMCA) .
At the same time, Diego Camargo pointed out that the protectionist measures adopted in Mexico may also affect the demand for car. He said that because Mexico had previously levied import tariffs on steel and aluminum that had not yet established a trade agreement with it, the inflation effect was caused, which thus affected the entire automobile supply chain.
The cross -border trade of the BMW Group may also be affected. Diego Camargo said about 30%of the BMW Group’s cars sold in Mexico are an SUV imported from a factory in South Carolina, USA. The BMW Group also exported unknown Mexican cars to more than 80 different destinations in the United States.
According to the Mexican Association of Automotive Distributors, the sales of BMW (including BMW and MINI brands) in Mexico in the first 10 months of this year increased by 1.1%to 13,893 units. Last year, the BMW Group’s sales in Mexico were 17,703 units, while sales in the United States were 362,244.
It is reported that the BMW Group’s car assembly plant in San Luis Potosi in Mexico Group produces three models locally, namely the BMW 3 Series, 2 Series Coupe and M2. However, the factory’s current annual output is only 175,000.
Diego Camargo also pointed out that the BMW Group is one of the few companies that sell electric vehicles in the pure electric vehicle market in Mexico. Last year, the sales of BMW Group electric vehicles in Mexico accounted for 22%of the company’s total sales.
The BMW Group’s commitment to electrification includes an investment of 800 million euros (about $ 844 million) to build a new battery plant near its San Luis Potosi factory. By 2027, the San Luis Potosi factory will produce the next -generation BMW electric vehicle Neue Klasse locally.