U.S. auto giant General Motors informed that $3.6 billion in investment will be made in Mexico through 2018, with the capital directed mainly for modernizing and expanding the firm's manufacturing plants in the cities of Toluca, Ramos Arizpe, Silao and San Luis Potosi.
The president of General Motors' affiliate in Mexico, Central America and the Caribbean, Ernesto M. Hernandez, said at a ceremony at Los Pinos residence, that he was confident that "the necessary economic conditions exist for these investments to translate into the creation of up to 5,600 new jobs." The GM Mexico chief also noted he would create almost 40,000 additional jobs in related industries.
With a 79-year presence in the Mexican market, GM operates four manufacturing complexes in the country, directly creating about 15,000 jobs and indirectly creating more than 105,000 in the supply chain and related industries.
With Enrique Peña Nieto, Mexico's president, in attendance, the GM Mexico official said that the investment package will improve the firm's production capabilities, especially in the areas of manufacturing, motors and transmissions and vehicle assembly.
Moreover, it will contribute to the production in Mexico of new vehicles for the local market and for export, something that will consolidate GM as the country's No. 1 vehicle exporter, he said.
At the same time, Peña Nieto said that between January and November 2013, vehicle production in Mexico exceeded 3 million units, an increase of 8.7 percent over the same period last year.
The president said that GM's investment will "put its plants in the front rank" of the industry ... and "without a doubt, these investments will contribute to pushing even more the successful automotive development our country is experiencing."
