MEXICO CITY - The German brand BMW will invest $1 billion dollars to build a plant in San Luis Potosi, where it will assemble up to 150,000 units annually of its 3.28 model, announced Harald Krüger, member of the board of directors of BMW Group for production and manufacturing.
The new complex will generate 1,500 direct jobs once it starts operations in 2019, Krüger added during the official announcement made at the Official Residence of Los Pinos.
BMW revealed last year its interest in assembling both the 1 Series and 3 Series in Mexico, as long as the right market conditions were generated to justify the investment in America. The event occurred.
In the United States, BMW Group sales rose 8.1% in 2013 to 375,782 units (previous year: 347,583). The U.S. market was the largest market for MINI, with a record 66,502 vehicles sold in 2013, according to company data.
To supply the growing demand in the U.S. market, the firm announced in March an expansion of its plant in South Carolina, United States, where it assembles the X series (X5, X3, X6). Now, four months later, the Munich-based German company announces the construction of a plant in Mexico.
Competitive costs, tax incentives, supply and availability of skilled labor were the attributes that convinced BMW to invest in the country.
Supplier chain
Although BMW did not have a plant in Mexico, it already has a base of 64 suppliers in the country. Steering wheels, seats, airbags, harnesses, headlights, skulls and aluminum wheels are some of the auto parts that the company currently purchases in Mexico.
Integrating components made in Mexico into the models it manufactures in the United States has allowed it to increase regional content and comply with NAFTA requirements. This, in turn, has brought benefits such as tariff-free vehicle import quotas.
In three years, the German brand tripled the value of its purchases of automotive components in Mexico, from 600 million dollars in 2009 to 1,632 million dollars in 2012. By the end of 2015, the company will increase its purchases in the country by 20%, according to data from the company's purchasing office in Mexico.
The suppliers that this automaker currently has in Mexico are distributed in the north and center of the country, mainly German and U.S. firms. Some Asian companies -very few- and three Mexican ones (Mecasa, Nemak, Grupo Bocar).
SLP accelerates in automotive investment
The automotive industry based in the state has a General Motors assembly plant and more than 100 Tier 1 suppliers, including Continental Tire, Contitech, Maxion Fumagalli, Draexlmaier Components Automotive, Lascasiana, Remy Componentes, Valeo Sistemas Eléctricos, Robert Bosch, Schulman de México and Nobel.
In 2013, new investments arrived in the state, mainly of Japanese origin, such as Koito Manufacturing (NAL de México) and Nissin, according to data from the state government.
Among the state's attractions for the automotive industry is its proximity to the Bajío region and to the United States via Laredo, as well as its proximity to the ports of Altamira (Tamaulipas) and Lázaro Cárdenas (Michoacán).
Skilled labor and a calm labor environment are also attributes that have favored the arrival of automotive investments to the state.
Of the $630 million dollars of investment that the state attracted in 2012, 80% came from the automotive industry. During 2013, the state attracted $700 million dollars, according to data from the state Secretariat of Economic Development.
Source: MANUFACTURA