Mexico’s automotive aftermarket to grow 6.4% annually: study

Mexico’s automotive aftermarket totaled $4.3 billion in 2016 and represented 8 per cent of North American demand, a new report from market research firm the Freedonia Group said.

Cleveland, Ohio-based Freedonia said the value of the Mexican peso relative to the U.S. dollar declined during the 2011 to 2016 period, with the result that sales fell through 2016. In spite of that, aftermarket sales continued to climb at a strong rate when measured in pesos, the study said.

“Automotive aftermarket demand in Mexico is forecast to expand 6.4% per year through 2021 to $5.8 billion, which is the fastest rate in the region and a turnaround from the declines of the 2011 to 2016 period,” the report said. “The increasing availability of newer model used car imports from the United States under the 2009 NAFTA agreement is expected to have a mixed effect on the Mexican automotive aftermarket.”

Aftermarket demand for automotive components in all of North America is forecast to expand 2.4 per cent annually through 2021, the report also said, accelerating from the slower growth seen between 2011 and 2016. “Sales will be promoted by such factors as growth in the size and average age of the region’s light vehicle park, gains in the average number of miles driven annually and increasingly stringent regulations regarding emissions, fuel efficiency, hazardous materials, and occupant and pedestrian safety, all of which will boost the number and value of many automotive components,” the study said.