Argentina's auto industry shows two faces: pickups hold up while car output falls by a third

Argentina's automotive industry recovered some activity in August, but the monthly improvement did not change the year's broader decline. Factories produced 39,381 vehicles, 26.3% more than in July and 11.6% fewer than in August 2025.

Production reached 275,228 units in the first eight months, down 56,907 vehicles, or 17.1%, from the same period last year, according to the Association of Automotive Factories, known as Adefa. March was the only month in the period to exceed its 2025 level, and it did so by just 0.4%.

The downturn has hit passenger cars far harder than utility vehicles. Car production fell 35%, from 145,140 units in the first eight months of 2025 to 94,329 this year. Utility-vehicle production declined 3.3%, from 186,995 to 180,899 units. In August, cars were down 26.9% year on year, while utility vehicles fell 2.4% and represented nearly seven out of every 10 vehicles produced.

Exports have proved more resilient. Argentina shipped 24,589 vehicles abroad in August, up 5.2% from July but down 3.6% from a year earlier. Exports for the first eight months totaled 174,859 vehicles, an increase of 0.9% despite the 17.1% drop in total production. Exports accounted for 62.4% of August output and 63.5% of production for the year to date.

Utility vehicles drove that performance. Their exports rose 16.3% through August to 126,814 units, while passenger-car exports fell 25.3% to 48,045. Adefa president Rodrigo Pérez Graziano said the export figures showed the industry's capacity, but called for greater competitiveness to expand markets and improve conditions for production, investment and employment.

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Export performance confirms the capacity and potential of the automotive industry, but we will need to keep advancing a competitiveness agenda that allows us to continue expanding markets and create better conditions for production, investment and employment.