The Mexican unit of Japan-based Nissan confirmed today that it will invest $700 million in its plant in the central Mexican state of Aguascalientes.
"The new Nissan Kicks will be produced at the Aguascalientes plant. Within the $700 million investment plan, automation, modernization and employee training processes were also carried out to ensure the innovation and cutting-edge features that characterizes the company," reported the company in a press release.
Nissan is the second largest vehicle production company in Mexico with a market share of 16.2 percent, surpassed only by General Motors with 18.7 percent of the 2.85 million vehicles produced in the country in the first nine months of the year, according to Inegi data consulted by SteelOrbis.
Nissan in Mexico employs more than 17 thousand people in its two plants in Aguascalientes and in the Jiutepec plant, Morelos. It also has a Research and Development Center (R&D) in the state of Mexico and its headquarters in Mexico City.
According to Nissan, its investments represent 17.2 percent of Foreign Direct Investment (FDI) in Mexico. According to a recent analysis by SteelOrbis, the automotive industry is the second largest investment magnet for foreign capital with $13.3 billion in the first 15 quarters of the current government, 37.4 percent more than the same period of the previous presidential term.
FDI in the automotive industry is second only to the $18.7 billion raised by the commercial banking business. The third most important is the Basic Iron and Steel Industry, $5.5 billion in the same comparison period.