No, The Car Guide hasn’t become a political website, but being so involved and entrenched in the car business, we cannot pretend that the results of the upcoming U.S. elections will not affect the business we love so much.
The Donald has said some choice words with regards to Mexico and the North American Free Trade Agreement. Although some might find merit in his ramblings, the impact on the auto industry following a renegotiation or cancellation of NAFTA would not only impact the Mexican economy, but the auto industry as whole.
Mexico has benefitted from NAFTA for a long while where not only has the car industry production more than doubled in the last decade, it is expected to rise by another 50% in the next three or four years. This economic growth has had an impact on domestic car sales in the country, as they too have nearly doubled in the last seven years. Do remember that these cars are not all built in the country.
A prosperous Mexico means strong imports of goods from the U.S. and Canada, a decidedly positive situation. Should Trump get his way and revamp NAFTA, a direct result could be Mexican exports thus affecting local jobs, manufacturing and the consumption of imported goods.
At the moment, brands such as Ford, Audi, Kia, Toyota, BMW and others still plan to build new assembly plants in the country over the next few years. A Trump win could stall these plans and there’s no telling the long-term impact on consumers where availability and pricing are concerned.
