Car Sales Reach 6-Year High in Mexico

Domestic car sales in Mexico rose nearly 8% to 1.06 million units in 2013, according to the Mexican Auto Dealers Assn.

The dealer group says volume this year could reach 1.15 million, which would surpass Mexico's previous record of 1.14 million sold in 2006. The market has been steadily recovering since the 2008 economic crisis.

Mexico's top-selling carmakers last year were Nissan with a 25% share, followed by General Motors (19%) and Volkswagen (14%).

MADA estimates Mexico's potential new-car volume is 1.6 million units per year. It complains that demand has been depressed by burgeoning sales of used cars shipped in from the U.S. The market for such vehicles surged more than 40% to 568,300 units in January-November 2013, according to the dealer association.

Separately, the Mexican Auto Industry Assn. reports that local vehicle production grew 2% to a record 2.93 million units last year. Exports accounted for 2.42 million of the total, with two-thirds of those vehicles shipped to the U.S.