According to a report by Daily Mexico, Irish automotive technology provider Aptiv will invest US$40 million in a new factory in El Salto, Jalisco, 29 kilometers from Guadalajara.
The new plant will expand Aptiv’s existing operations in Mexico, where the company is already active in 8 other states. It will be its first factory in Jalisco, and it will be dedicated to the manufacture of spare parts for electric vehicles.
“Jalisco is on the right track,” Jalisco Governor Enrique Alfaro Ramírez said at a press conference on June 13. “Jalisco has the confidence of the private sector to continue investing and we appreciate that […] it represents a commitment not to slow down.”
Alfaro said that the new plant will generate 2,200 jobs. Operations are expected to start in September and they are ready to start hiring, he added.
The plant is expected to produce an annual average of 10 million parts for the North American market, which will be assembled into at least 464,000 electric cars each year.
“We are very happy with the opening of this plant in El Salto, Jalisco,” the president of Aptiv Latin America, Arturo Álvarez, told the press. “Without a doubt, this will be a world-class plant.”
He added that the factory will manufacture products for clients in Mexico and abroad, and will position Jalisco as a leader in the electric car industry.
In Mexico, the Irish company develops and manufactures technologies for signal and power distribution, advanced electronics, and active security. They also develop and manufacture leading in-cabin user experience and infotainment platforms, as well as electronic control units.
According to Aptiv’s website, its Mexican operations, which employ more than 72,000 people, make more than 300 new product launches per year and ship 11.7 billion parts worldwide.
After the supply chain disruption caused by the COVID-19 pandemic, many companies have moved their operations to Mexico from Asia. The trend, known as nearshoring, has already led to a surge in industrial investment across the country.