MEXICO CITY -(Dow Jones)- Mexico's auto industry has benefited enormously from the country's membership in the North American Free Trade Agreement, the head of an industry chamber said Monday.
"It's one of the sectors that has most benefited," said Cesar Flores, executive vice president of Mexican auto industry association AMIA.
The U.S., Mexico and Canada signed the Nafta in late 1992.
The agreement has opened Mexico's auto industry up to $20 billion in investment that has streamed in just during the last six years, and most major auto companies have manufacturing centers in the country.
Toyota Motor Corp., one of the last to arrive, broke ground on its first Mexican plant earlier this year.
Exports, 95% of which head to the U.S. and Canada, have grown rapidly. In 1990, Mexico exported around 180,000 vehicles, whereas in the first 11 months of 2002 manufacturers in Mexico have sent 1.23 million units abroad.
More than four models, including the new Volkswagen Beetle, are exclusively manufactured in Mexico.
The industry contributes about 2.4% of Mexico's $600 billion gross domestic product.
-By Amy Guthrie, Dow Jones Newswires; (5255) 5080-3453; amy.guthrie@ dowjones.com
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