General Motors may be closing some factories in the U.S. and Canada, but its Business in Mexico is booming.
According to the GM Administration, GM is on track to become Mexico's largest automaker and exporter in 2018. This will be the first time the U.S. automaker has risen to that position in recent years.
Much of this success was due to GM's restructuring of its Plant in Mexico to produce crossovers, SUVs and pickups. Since these vehicles happen to be the most popular models at the moment, rather than lower-selling sedans, the increase in sales is natural.
In response to the changing needs of customers in North America, GM began adjusting its Mexican operations in mid-2017. The automaker halted production of the Chevrolet Lech (its best-selling model in Mexico) and the Chevrolet Sonic, allocating capacity from both factories to the all-new Chevrolet Explorer Equinox and GMC Terrain, as well as the first-generation Chevrolet Trax.
It also produces the all-new Chevrolet Silverado (known locally as Cheyenne) and GMC Sierra full-size pickups in Mexico, and will soon allocate additional capacity for the 2019 Blazer crossover, as plans were recently announced to discontinue the Chevrolet Cruz.
As a result of these initiatives, and the fact that Nissan mainly produces cars in Mexico, GM replaced Nissan in 2018 as the largest automaker in Mexico. As of November, GM had produced 801163 vehicles, up 67,000 from the same period last year.
The vehicles are produced at GM's three plants in Mexico: San Luis Potosi (Chevrolet Trax, GMC Terrain), Silao (Chevrolet Silverado, GMC Sierra) and Ramos Arizpe (Chevrolet Blazer and Cruze). During the same period, Nissan built 717,108 cars, a decrease of 71,000.
The increase in production has also made GM the largest auto exporter in Mexico, with 693,782 vehicles already exported this year. Most of the exports go to the United States and Canada, but the automaker also benefits from Mexico's trade deals with South American countries.
The new GMC Terrain is powered by a 1.5T engine that produces 170 hp, a 2.0-liter turbocharged petrol engine that produces 252 hp and a 1.6-liter turbocharged diesel engine with an output of 137 horsepower. The entire range is mated to a nine-speed transmission. Thanks to GMC's electronic precision shift technology, you can get more storage space on the center console, which replaces the traditional shift device.