DistantNews
Support us
🇲🇽 Mexico /Economy & Trade

Automakers cut investment in Mexico for a second consecutive year

From El Universal · () Spanish

Translated from Spanish and summarized by DistantNews. Read the original for the full story.

At a glance

News Documents & data Context piece
  • Automotive companies invested $4.285 billion in Mexico through foreign direct investment in the first half of the year, the lowest figure for a comparable period since 2022.
  • Investment fell 11.2% from the first half of 2025, marking a second consecutive annual decline.
  • Analysts cited uncertainty over the USMCA, U.S. trade policy and tariffs, while some capital shifted toward electronic computer-equipment manufacturing.

Automotive investment in Mexico declined for the second year in a row as companies waited for greater clarity on trade rules, U.S. policy, and the industry’s technological transition.

Automakers and parts manufacturers brought in $4.285 billion through foreign direct investment during the first half of the year, according to figures originally published by Mexico’s Economy Ministry. That was the lowest amount for the first half of a year since 2022 and represented an 11.2% decline from the same period in 2025.

Analysts told EL UNIVERSAL that weaker automotive exports to the United States, uncertainty surrounding the United States-Mexico-Canada Agreement, and tariffs on steel, aluminum, and vehicles had reduced the sector’s appeal. Luis Foncerrada, a researcher at Texas A&M University and former director of the Center for Economic Studies of the Private Sector, said the industry was waiting for a decision or agreement on the trade pact.

Clearly, the automotive industry is down, waiting for some decision or agreement concerning the USMCA, either before or after the November elections in the United States, depending on President Donald Trump’s approach.

· Luis FoncerradaThe Texas A&M researcher described the industry’s wait for clarity on the North American trade pact.

“Clearly, the automotive industry is down, waiting for some decision or agreement concerning the USMCA, either before or after the November elections in the United States, depending on President Donald Trump’s approach,” Foncerrada said. He added that the industry was receiving less new investment, although companies were reinvesting profits in existing Mexican plants and expanding production lines while they waited for a broader USMCA arrangement.

Alexa Castro, an analyst at México, ¿cómo vamos?, said the investment lost by the automotive industry had shifted in roughly equal proportion to electronic computer-equipment manufacturing. Electronics received 8.7% of total foreign investment during the first half of the year, reflecting what she called a reshaping of Mexico’s export profile and a redistribution of foreign capital among sectors. She attributed part of the automotive adjustment to Section 232 tariffs, which she said had hit the sector hard.

There is a reshaping of our export profile, as well as a redistribution of the sectors receiving more foreign capital.

· Alexa CastroThe analyst described the shift of investment toward electronics.
About this summary

Originally published by El Universal in Spanish. Translated, summarized, and contextualized automatically by DistantNews, with a note on how the source frames the story. Not individually reviewed before publishing. How this works.

More Stories

From Our Blog