Mexico beating Brazil as top car producer

Mexico is poised to overtake Brazil as the top Latin American automobile producer for the first time in more than a decade as surging exports to the U.S. spur factory openings and record output.

After being ahead of Brazil in the first six months of the year, Mexico is projected to hold its advantage through 2014, for the first full-year lead since 2002, according to consultant IHS Automotive.

Mexico's boom coincides with a slump in Brazilian production through June as domestic demand cools, setting up a shift in leadership of the Latin American industry faster than analysts predicted.

Source: Bloomberg