After Tesla, Mexico looks to continue attracting automakers

Mexico’s Secretary of Economy Raquel Buenrostro is in New York meeting with Toyota and General Motors representatives, among other companies, to discuss opportunities to invest in the country.

Buenrostro, who recently stated that Mexico could become a powerhouse in 30 years if it takes advantage of the opportunities provided by nearshoring, spoke to Bloomberg about her intentions for US automakers to relocate their plants to the Interoceanic Corridor of the Isthmus of Tehuantepec in the southeast of Mexico.

The project, one of the most ambitious of the government of President Andrés Manuel López Obrador, seeks to boost the country’s development in the region, an area that has been marginalized in relation to the growth experienced in the north, where, due to its proximity to the US border, thousands of companies have settled.

The Interoceanic Corridor of the Isthmus of Tehuantepec, officially announced in 2019 by the Mexican government, seeks to promote the creation of rail infrastructure, industrial parks, and the granting of tax benefits, among other initiatives.

“We have had several approaches from the automotive industry, for example, the auto parts industry and also some industries related to steel and metallurgical parts that are complementary to the development of electromobility,” Buenrostro said in statements to the financial media.

“We have flown over the area with business leaders so they can get to know it.”

In the interview, the Mexican official stressed that the southern region has several advantages, including a good water supply and ample availability of clean energy.

According to the article, Buenrostro said during her talk that the agency is also in talks with Taiwanese companies in the automotive and semiconductor industries.

Since the disruption in the supply chain caused by the pandemic and the growing hostility of the US towards China, numerous US companies have decided to relocate to Mexico, a phenomenon known as nearshoring, in contrast to the previous offshoring, which consisted of moving production from companies in the West to countries in Asia.

This change of moving factories to nearby countries to reduce time and costs has led to an increase in Foreign Direct Investment in Mexico, which, according to figures from the Ministry of Economy itself in 2022, was the highest in seven years, reaching 35,292 million dollars, an increase of 12% over last year.

In addition, the announcement at the beginning of the year made by the entrepreneur Elon Musk, in charge of Tesla, and President Andrés Manuel López Obrador that the firm would install a mega-plant for the construction of its electric vehicles in the state of Nuevo León generated headlines around the world, helping to generate interest in Mexico as an attractive relocation option for companies.

With information from Sputnik

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