Jalisco has once again lost out on a major international investment as German carmaker BMW announced plans to build a plant near San Luis Potosí in central Mexico.
BMW Production Manager Harald Kruger said in a statement that the decision to locate in Mexico “underscores our commitment to the NAFTA region.”
A BMW Group press release highlighted the San Luis Potosi region’s “highly-qualified local workforce, solid network of established suppliers and well-developed infrastructure.”The plant will be able to produce 150,000 units per year for both the domestic and export market. This figure is equivalent to almost 10 percent of global BMW car sales which reached 1.65 million vehicles in 2013.
“Production is planned to start in 2019 and during that year the workforce will reach around 1,500 people,” said Kruger, who did not reveal what kind of cars would be made at the plant.
While the majority of vehicles produced in San Luis Potisi will be destined for the North American market, sales of luxury BMW cars and motorbikes in Mexico have been increasing rapidly in recent years.
The BMW Group has operated a local sales company in Mexico since 1994 and sold 13,992 vehicles in the country in 2013. This was up 18.3 percent over the previous year. Motorcycle sales for the same period reached 2,064 units (up 16.6 percent).
Kia Motors
Meanwhile, other news reports suggest that South Korea’s Kia Motors Corporation soon plans to break ground on a new plant in Mexico.