Production Shows Recovery

Mexican production for both light and heavy vehicles started to shown signs of recovery. Light vehicle production grew 8.8 percent year-on-year, while heavy vehicle production in October set a record for 2020. On international roads, BMW accelerated its electrification plans and presented iX, its fully electrified SUV, aiming to compete against Tesla in North America. The vehicle will hit the market in 2022.

Continuing with 3Q20 results, both Nissan and Mazda revised their forecasts upward for 2020, after delivering better-than-expected results due to an increase in demand, particularly in North America.

Production Recovery

Automotive production in Mexico grew 8.8 percent year-on-year in October, being GM, Mercedes Benz, and BMW the companies that increased their year-on-year production at double-digit rates. Growth was 11.5 percent compared to September 2020.

As for heavy vehicles, October was the best month in 2020 in terms of production, with a 5.3 percent increase against September and an 18.9 percent decrease against October 2019.

Volkswagen to Invest in Guanajuato

Volkswagen will invest US$233 million in Guanajuato for a new engine production line. Steffen Reiche, President of Volkswagen Mexico, announced that the investment sums up to a total of US$855 million invested in the state. The new engines are for the company's new vehicle lineup that includes the new Taos to be manufactured in Puebla.

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Newcomers

BMW introduces its first fully electric SUV that will directly compete with Tesla in North America. The BMW iX "harnesses the latest innovations in the fields of electrification, automated driving and connectivity," said the company in a statement. iX will hit the market in early 2022.

Honda announced that it has received the required type designation for Level 3 automated driving from the Japanese Ministry of Land, Infrastructure, Transport and Tourism.

Nissan and Mazda's 3Q20 Results

Nissan Motor Co. today announced financial results for the six-months ending in Sept. 30, 2020 and the revised outlook its FY20. In the first half of the fiscal year, consolidated net revenue was ¥3.09 trillion (US$29.3 billion). By the end of FY20, Nissan expect sales volumes to increase by 1 percent over its previous forecast of 4,165,000 units. Despite the negative impact of rising raw material prices, Nissan revised its full-year outlook upward due to improvements in selling expenses as well as sales finance, manufacturing and fixed costs.

As for Mazda, the Japanese company reported global sales in its first half of the year of 578,000 units, down 21 percent year-on-year. “During 2Q20 (ending in September), we were successful in steadily seizing sales opportunities in the US, while at the same time accelerating fixed cost reductions. As a consequence, earnings improved more than expected,” reported the company.