CRIME BOOSTS BULLETPROOF CAR INDUSTRY
Historic levels of violence in Mexico sparks record demand for armoured vehicles
HISTORIC levels of violent crime in Mexico have sparked a record increase in the country’s car-armouring business, with a group predicting a doubledigit jump in the number of vehicles bulletproofed this year.
There were more than 25,000 murders across Mexico last year, the highest annual tally since modern records began, government data showed, with this year on track to be even worse.
That insecurity would drive a 10 per cent rise in car-armouring services this year to 3,284 cars, above the previous all-time high in 2012, according to the Mexican Automotive Armor Association.
That figure is small relative to the 15,145 cars armoured in Brazil last year, which expects to see a 25 per cent jump this year.
Demand in Mexico had grown so strong that more automakers started bulletproofing cars on their Mexican factories as opposed to the usual practice of after-market armouring.
Audi began making an armoured version of its Q5 sport utility vehicle in the central state of Puebla in mid last year for local sale and export to Brazil and Argentina. The company declined to give recent sales figures.
Audi’s Mexico arm said its armoured Q5, which cost US$87,000 (RM349,943) locally, was cheaper for consumers than using an aftermarket firm, which an industry expert estimated would boost the car’s cost to more than US$95,000 and void the factory guarantee.
BMW, Jeep and Mercedes-Benz have made armoured cars in Mexico for several years.
After being assaulted and robbed multiple times in recent years, Arturo Avila, who owns a security company, now only travelled in armoured cars.
“One of the crimes that hurts us most is kidnapping. That’s what we’re afraid of,” he said, adding that he changed his car every two years.
About 1.5 million cars were sold in Mexico last year, but just a tiny portion were armoured, as cars remain a luxury for the affluent and for companies that required executives to travel in bulletproof vehicles with bodyguards, said Avila.
Security companies also expanded rental and leasing offerings, services that were increasingly popular.
About 80 per cent of armoured car providers’ business is in the private sector, with the rest from the government.