Bob Miller was kind enough to forward me this article:
FEATURE-Armor-plated car demand rises with Mexico crime
April 17, 2002 03:30 PM ET -- By Gabriel Moreno
MEXICO CITY, April 17 (Reuters) - Carolina stared through her windshield into two gun barrels pointed at her face by a pair of masked men who ordered her out of her car in a dark and deserted intersection of Mexico's capital city.
Frozen with fear, the businesswoman couldn't bring herself to meet the eyes of the assailants, who opened fire on her car. When the bullets bounced off, however, they quickly ran off in search of easier prey.
Only months before, Carolina's husband, worried about a growing wave of kidnappings and robberies targeting drivers, insisted that she have her car armor-plated to give him peace of mind.
"First I thought I'd wasted my money, but now (I realize) I could be dead," Carolina said in a telephone interview after being contacted via Coparmex, a Mexican business group on the front lines of the country's campaign to fight kidnappings.
Rampant crime, a police force riddled with corruption and a growing conviction that authorities were powerless to guarantee safe streets has pushed Mexico's elites to turn to armor-plated vehicles.
"Demand for armor-plated vehicles in the last five years has almost doubled because of the levels of crime we are living with," says Jose Ramon Abraham, director of a Mexico City armor-plating firm.
At least 1,500 vehicles, mostly owned by businessmen and government officials, were armor-plated last year. That's up 50 percent from the 1,000 that were protected in 2000, according to the Mexican Association of Armor-Plating Companies.
The reasons behind the boom are readily apparent.
KIDNAPPING FOR RANSOM RAMPANT
In Mexico City, an average of 104 vehicles are stolen each day -- at least 40 percent of them by violent means, according to official figures.
Statistics are sketchier for kidnappings, as most of them are never reported, but it is widely acknowleged that, in Latin America, Mexico is second only to Colombia in that crime category.
Security experts say the rise in violent crime -- and consequently the boom in the armor-plating industry -- is linked to the availability of firearms.
Local congressmen estimate that among Mexico City's 18 million inhabitants, there are 500,000 illegal handguns, which are available on the black market for about 1,000 pesos ($110).
"All types of arms are out there, which makes armor-plating a general necessity," said Martha Beatriz Manrique, who set up an armor-plating company in the Colombian capital of Bogota. She is now a consultant for armor-plating companies in Mexico.
The costs of protecting a car with armor plating range from about $16,000 to $120,000, depending on the thickness of plates, the bullet-proof resistance of glass and reinforcement of door frames.
Bullet-proof tires, special brakes and suspension systems are also available - at further cost.
But some Mexicans, like Carolina, see the enhancements as a valuable investment.
Antonio Gutierrez Cortina, whose family -- one of the country's wealthiest -- built Mexico City's landmark World Trade Center, escaped kidnapping in 1996 because his car was armor-plated.
As the prominent architect slowed his Mercedes Benz to enter a car park in an upscale neighborhood, the kidnappers pumped 11 bullets into the vehicle before realizing the futility of their efforts.
DEMAND IS HIGH IN LATIN AMERICA
Almost 50 percent of world demand for armor-plated cars comes from Latin America, although Mexico's industry is in its infancy compared with Colombia and Brazil, which account for most of the regional business, according to Manrique.
Other nations where there is a similar demand include Russia, Poland, Slovenia, Croatia, Ukraine, and South Africa.
Until recently, Mexicans had to send their cars away for armor-plating. Now they can order directly from car makers.
German auto makers Mercedes-Benz and BMW BMWG.DE import armor-plated cars to order, and other car makers are lining up to do the same.
Imports of armor-plated cars have risen 67 percent in the last three years, to 130 vehicles in 2001 from 78 in 1998, according to industry data.
"Mexico is one of the largest armor-plated car markets in the world," says Thomas Karig, spokesman for the Mexican unit of Germany's Volkswagen (VW) VOWG.F .
In December, VW launched its Passat Protect, an armor-plated car with a price tag of $80,000, and it expects to sell between 50 and 80 units in 2002.
Audi, part of Volkswagen, also imports protected vehicles and is planning to sell about 80 armor-plated cars this year.
"Demand for armor-plated vehicles is growing, unfortunately, for our Mexican clients," says Carlos Fernandez, director of Audi's Mexico unit.
Security is vital for Carolina, who asked that her surname not to be revealed. After her narrow escape from the masked assailants, she hired body guards as an added security measure.
"No precaution is too much," she said, "and there is never an absolute guarantee of security."
reuters.com
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