Mexico Continues to Attract Big Auto Plant Projects

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Researched by Industrial Info Resources (Sugar Land, Texas)--Daimler AG (Stuttgart, Germany) and the Renault-Nissan Alliance broke ground last week for their $1 billion auto manufacturing complex in Aguascalientes, an indication of Mexico's allure as a magnet for automotive plant projects. Industrial Info is tracking $15.2 billion in automotive projects in Mexico.

Industrial Info is tracking 120 automotive projects in Mexico. This includes 78 projects, with a total investment value of $8.3 billion, which are in the construction and engineering phases. The remaining 42 projects, worth $6.9 billion, are in the planning phases, where a variety of factors could alter their outcome.

Cooperation Manufacturing Plant Aguascalientes (COMPAS) will build next-generation Nissan Infiniti and Daimler Mercedes-Benz compact vehicles, starting with Infiniti vehicles in 2017, and Mercedes-Benz vehicles in 2018, according to a company press statement. The project is a 50:50 joint venture by Daimler AG, and the Renault-Nissan Alliance between Renault Groupe (Paris, France) and Nissan Motor Company Ltd, (Yokohama, Japan).

The 310,000-square-foot assembly plant complex will have an annual production capacity of more than 230,000 vehicles, the companies said, with the potential for expansion. The project will create about 3,600 direct jobs by 2020, and about 12,000 indirect jobs.

The project will be Mercedes-Benz' first production location for compact cars in the North American Free Trade Agreement (NAFTA) region, according to a press statement by Markus Schaefer, a member of the Divisional Board of Mercedes-Benz Cars, Production and Supply Chain Management.

Industrial Info is tracking four projects in Aguascalientes with a combined value of nearly $1.3 billion. Nissan has made vehicles in Aguascalientes since 1992. Daimler already makes trucks and busses in Mexico, with about 8,000 employees throughout the country.

Mexico is home to six projects that each have an investment value of $1 billion or more. The one with the biggest price tag is Audi AG's (Ingolstadt, Germany) $1.3 billion San Jose Chiapa automobile assembly plant complex, where construction kicked off in 2013. Audi's first Mexico plant is set to open in second-half 2016. The 3.2-million-square-foot complex will manufacture a new version of the Audi Q5 crossover vehicle, with an initial production capacity of 150,000 units per year.

Industrial Info Resources (IIR), with global headquarters in Sugar Land, Texas, five offices in North America and 10 international offices, is the leading provider of global market intelligence specializing in the industrial process, heavy manufacturing and energy markets. Industrial Info's quality-assurance philosophy, the Living Forward Reporting Principle™, provides up-to-the-minute intelligence on what's happening now, while constantly keeping track of future opportunities.