Mexico set a new auto production record of 2.55 million cars and light trucks in 2011, a 13.1 percent increase compared to the previous year, the AMIA auto industry association said last week. The previous record of 2.26 million units had been set in 2010.

Last year’s auto exports came in at 2.14 million cars and light trucks, up 15.3 percent from 2010, while exports to Latin America grew a whopping 55.9 percent. Exports to Europe, meanwhile, climbed 23.9 percent, the second-largest increase.

Exports to Mexico’s NAFTA partners, the United States and Canada, also were higher but grew just 6.7 percent and 11.7 percent, respectively.

Domestic auto sales totaled 905,886 units last year, 10.4 percent higher than in 2010 but 17.6 percent lower than in 2007, the year prior to the onset of the global recession.

The biggest-selling compact car last year in the Mexican market was the Ford Fusion, followed by Volkswagen’s New Jetta and Nissan’s Sentra 2.0, while among the light trucks the top sellers were the Silverado 2500, the Journey and the GMC Sierra.