Mexico auto production, exports rise in January: AMIA

Auto production in Mexico rose 0.4 percent in January 2016 compared with the same month last year, while exports were up 4.1 percent, the Mexican Auto Industry Association (AMIA) said on Monday.

Mexico produced 267,498 vehicles during the month and exported 213,244, AMIA said, reaching record levels for a month of January.

Shipments to the United States jumped 14.3 percent over January last year, while sales to Latin America and Canada fell sharply. The United States received 77.4 percent of all Mexican auto exports for the month.

The data also showed Volkswagen AG's production and exports both fell more than 40 percent.

The German automaker's exports from Mexico have dropped every month since September, when the company became embroiled in a major global scandal over rigged emissions tests of cars with diesel engines sold in the United States.

A Volkswagen spokesman in Mexico had no immediate comment.

In 2015, Volkswagen's production in Mexico slumped 3.71 percent and its exports dropped 1.18 percent.