Mexico Auto Financing Share Climbs to 75.5% in 1Q26

Total automotive retail sales financed through credit in Mexico reached 75.5% in 1Q26 and are projected to reach 80% by year-end, up from 72.9% in 2025 and 68.4% in 2024. However, market data released by the Mexican Association of Automotive Dealers (AMDA), JATO Dynamics, and Urban Science indicates that the country's potential automotive financing market has contracted over the past several years, while strict underwriting standards leave up to half of all credit applicants unable to secure vehicle financing.

According to a market analysis by automotive finance firm MStar, financial institutions and banks maintain average credit rejection rates of approximately 30% for standard loan applications. In higher-risk subprime segments, rejection rates climb to between 60% and 65%. Overall, one out of every two applicants fails to obtain financing.

Ken Charles, Digital Director, MStar, said the primary obstacles preventing consumers from securing automotive loans are applicants' financial capacity and their credit history with the Buró de Crédito.

“The financial circumstances of many Mexicans mean that rejection rates remain high,” Charles said, noting that credit history continues to exclude a significant portion of the population from vehicle ownership.

The contraction of the addressable market is reflected in annual industry indicators. In 2024, the sector estimated a potential market of 68,027 unfinanced vehicles with a combined value of MX$39.2 billion (US$2.2 billion). By 2025, the potential market had declined to 61,910 units, representing a value of MX$32.8 billion (US$1.8 billion).

During 1Q26, the industry's Opportunity Index—which measures the number of vehicles that could have been financed but were not—stood at 15,356 units. That volume represents an estimated market value of MX$8.082 billion (US$466.9 million), remaining virtually unchanged from the level recorded in the first quarter of 2025.

In response to persistent barriers to credit access, the Congress of the Union is debating amendments to the Law to Regulate Credit Information Companies (Ley para Regular las Sociedades de Información Crediticia). The proposed reforms would shorten the statutory period required to remove fully settled debts from consumers' credit histories, with the goal of reducing barriers to obtaining vehicle financing.

Industry analysts say the automotive finance sector's main challenge will be expanding financial inclusion to capture unmet consumer demand without relaxing underwriting standards or compromising the credit quality of existing loan portfolios, particularly as sustained demand for mobility solutions continues to drive financing applications.