Automaker BMW has commenced construction of its San Luis Potosí facility in Mexico, which should receive a $1 billion investment and create some 1,500 jobs, the company said late this week while breaking ground at the group’s newest plant.
The San Luis Potosí plant will produce BMW’s bestselling vehicle, the 3-Series sedan, and is located just one hour from Mexico City.
According to the automaker, the Mexican plant will “balance out production capacity at BMW’ Group Plant Rosslyn in South Africa, which will build the new BMW X3 instead of the BMW 3 Series in the future.”
The company expects to start up its Mexican plant in 2019, with an annual production capacity of up to 150,000 units.
BMW said the decision to build a plant in San Luis Potosí was based on criteria such as the “broad supplier network and qualified local workforce, as well as the technical and social infrastructure.”
The governor of San Luis Potosí, Juan Manuel Carreras López, said the automotive plant will help to further develop the automotive industry in the region.
“San Luis Potosi is an attractive state for the automotive industry with skilled workers, a logistically interesting location and [has] the necessary infrastructure for the development of this kind of project,” he said.
BMW said the San Luis Potosí facility will be a “full plant,” comprised of body shop, paint shop and assembly. “From the first full year of production, the plant will be the BMW Group’s most resource-efficient production location worldwide,” the automaker added.