ABSTRACT
A fortunate confluence of events, framed in the three-level bargaining dynamic, led to the structural transformations undergone by the Mexican automobile industry, which a included strong export dynamism and the incipient increasing integration into a North American system of automotive production. Mexico’s enhanced resources at a time when the North American industry was going through a time of uncertainty and the fiscal incentives offered to US vehicle assemblers enabled the Mexican government to entice multinational auto makers to increase their investments in new, export-oriented plants. The oligopolistic competitive dynamics also forced Ford to follow GM’s strategies of complying with Mexico’s regulations, despite the parent company’s conservative spending strategy and reluctance to commit scarce resources to relatively marginal foreign operations.
