Canada spends to save GM; Why not Mexico?

By Eric Heinrich
Time

At time when the U.S. and Canada are pouring tens of billions of dollars into General Motors Corp. to give the bankrupt automaker a new lease on life, why is Mexico flying under the radar?

Last month when Washington and Ottawa pledged to invest $60 billion in Detroit's biggest car company, Mexico — a partner in NAFTA and an integrated North-American auto industry — was conspicuous by its absence.

That's more than a little surprising when you consider that last year Mexico made 504,858 vehicles at four assembly plants; that's 9 percent higher than the 463,869 cars and light trucks produced by GM Canada.

Why has Mexico has sailed free? The short answer is that GM Mexico doesn't need a bailout because it's comfortably in the black.

"If you have a profitable division at a time when the rest of your business is having a hard time, do you talk about it?" says analyst Pascual Francisco at IHS Global Insight.