Mexican Car Buyers Keep Spending, But Their Patience Is Running Out
Key Points
- New car sales in Mexico reached 1,370,186 units between January and November 2025, the highest level for that period since 2017.
- Growth is only 1 percent, November sales slipped, and the economy is expected to expand just 0.40 percent in 2025.
- Car sales reveal a middle class that still spends, but carefully, and that depends on stable rules more than big promises.
On paper, Mexico’s car market looks healthy. Between January and November 2025, Mexicans bought 1,370,186 new vehicles, 1 percent more than a year earlier and the best result for that period since 2017.
Beneath the headline, the story is more fragile. November sales fell 0.3 percent from the same month in 2024, despite the “Buen Fin” discount season that usually fills showrooms.
Dealers report customers walking in, calculating monthly payments and interest, and then deciding to wait. The desire to buy is there; the confidence is not.
Prices are not the main villain. The index that tracks the cost of buying a car rose only 1.65 percent in the year to mid-November, far from an inflation spiral.
What really weighs on decisions is a weak growth outlook – economists now see GDP rising only 0.40 percent in 2025 – together with worries about jobs, security and the investment climate. When people doubt tomorrow, they keep their old car longer.
Today’s numbers cap a slow climb back from 2020, when sales fell to a nine-year low amid COVID-19 and factory shutdowns. Since then, the sector has battled clogged ports, higher shipping costs and a shortage of semiconductors.
By late 2025, volumes finally moved above pre-pandemic levels. There is another twist. Official statistics still miss part of the market, because several fast-growing Chinese brands do not fully report their sales.
Industry estimates suggest that, once those are counted, total 2025 sales could exceed 1.6 million units. New-car sales are a real-life stress test of Mexico’s middle class.
People are still buying, but cautiously, and they are likely to reward stability, predictable rules and solid economic management over grand gestures that put their wallets at risk.
This article was produced by The Rio Times’ automated newsroom system. How we use AI · Report an error · Editorial responsibility: Matthias Camenzind, Editor-in-Chief