Hope and clenched teeth in Mexico

Election Day in the U.S. fell on the same day that the Mexican auto industry trotted out its monthly numbers on production, exports and sales, which again set records in October.

But Donald Trump's mere name cast a cloud over the affair. Maybe he wouldn't win. Maybe Mexico could find other markets. Maybe Trump's anti-trade policies would soften.

Now that reality has interceded, industry executives are trying to put the best face on what looks like a coming renegotiation of the North American Free Trade Agreement, the lifeblood of the sector.

Guillermo Rosales, co-director of the Mexican Automobile Distributors Association, thinks a President Trump might come around on free trade as he develops an economic program.

"It is very probable that we will see a much more moderate attitude from Donald Trump once he assumes the presidency," Rosales told Automotive News.

"The economic interdependence of the North American region is increasingly important for the competitiveness of the three nations," he added.

As Rosales sees it, gutting NAFTA would undermine Trump's campaign pledge to strengthen the U.S. economy.

However, there's always the possibility that things could get nasty.

"Mexico must be prepared to negotiate with firmness and to look for alternatives in other regions," Rosales said.

Alvaro Fernandez Garza, president of auto-parts giant Grupo Alfa, said at a Mexican business summit Thursday, Nov. 10, that the North American auto sector is far too integrated to be dismantled anytime soon.

"The investments already promised for the sector tell you that it's going to continue to grow," he was quoted as saying in the newspaper El Universal.

And yet, he recommended that auto companies not make any unnecessary Mexico investments until there is more clarity on U.S. policies.