Fiat Chrysler Resumes Brazilian Exports to Mexico

Fiat Chrysler Automobiles has resumed exporting vehicles from Brazil to Mexico after taking a three-year break.

Cledorvino Belini, chief executive officer of FCA in Latin America attributed the move to weak Brazilian demand and a more favorable exchange rate. Fiat’s last sent a significant number of vehicles to Mexico four years ago, when 15,000 vehicles were exported, according to Reuters.

Belini said Brazil's currency has lost 12 percent this year to 2.68 real to the U.S. dollar, and forecast that it would hit BRL2.80 per dollar in 2015, further increasing the value of vehicles sold outside the country.

That development could further shift the dynamics of bilateral auto trade between Latin America's two biggest economies, Reuters reported.

In August, Brazilian exports fell 50.6 percent from a year earlier and are down 38.1 percent for the year, according to national automakers’ association Anfavea.

Car exports from Mexico rose to 1.95 million in the first three quarters, up 8.7 percent from a year earlier, according to the national auto producers’ association, AMIA.

Brazil is the world’s fourth biggest auto market and a major base of operations for not only Fiat but also, Volkswagen, General Motors and Ford Motor Co.