Armored Car Sales Are Booming In Mexico As Murder Rate Soars

The International Institute for Strategic Studies recently ranked Mexico as the second most dangerous country in the world and the country's alarmingly high homicide rate has transformed the armored car industry into a booming business.

According to NBC DFW, the armored car industry is growing 20 percent annually in Mexico and a large number of these orders are coming from civilians. While high-end models such as the Mercedes-Maybach S600 Guard will cost you hundreds of thousands of dollars, a number of companies specialize in transforming mainstream vehicles into low-profile armored cars.

These models typically cost between $35,000 and $85,000 and they have become a hit with entrepreneurs who simply want to remain safe while doing their daily business. Of course, armored vehicles are still expensive and a number of companies have started to cater to customers who are on smaller budgets. One such company is EPEL who has started leasing armored cars to customers who can't afford to make a big upfront payment.

Despite the growing success of his company, EPEL CEO Ernesto Mizrahi hopes something will change as he told the station "All of our families are suffering this crisis. We hope it [the murder rate] goes down and we can change our market to doing limousines or whatever."