San Luis Potosi, Mexico - Ford Motor Co. on Tuesday confirmed that it would build a new assembly plant in the Mexican state of San Luis Potosi to improve the profitability of its small cars production.

The Dearborn automaker said it will invest $1.6 billion for the new plant, and will begin construction this summer and start producing vehicles in 2018. Ford said the new plant will create 2,800 direct jobs by 2020.

Joe Hinrichs, president of Ford of the Americas, said that the new plant does not mean Ford is moving jobs out of the U.S. "We're proud to be an American company," he told CNBC. "We've invested $10.2 billion here in the U.S. over the last five years and that commitment won't change even as we expand around the world."

The Mexican plant, in San Luis Potosí, will build small cars that will be exported for sale in the U.S. and other countries, though the automaker has not decided which vehicles will be built there.

The company already has two final assembly plants and one engine plant in Mexico. It has a total of 8,800 employees there, compared with 85,000 in the U.S.

"The facts bear out that our investment in the U.S. continues to be substantial," Hinrichs said. "The investments in Mexico are not having an offsetting effect in the U.S.; we’re not losing any jobs at Michigan Assembly Plant or southeast Michigan."

Hinrichs said Ford has hired 25,000 workers in the U.S. in the past five years and produces more cars in America than any other automaker.