The auto parts company Nexteer Automotive, with headquarters in Auburn Hills, Michigan, will invest more than $20 million to build an engineering center in the second largest income-generating country in the world, Mexico, according to information from the company and the government of Querétaro.
“This is the beginning of the construction of the Nexteer Automotive Mexico Technical Center (MXTC), a space where the company will be in charge of improving its response capacity and quality for its Original Equipment Manufacturer (OEM) customers in Mexico,” reported the government of Querétaro in a press release.
Nexteer Automotive is a Chinese-owned company that operates 27 manufacturing plants, five technical centers and 13 customer service centers across six continents.
Company data, seen by SteelOrbis, shows that in 2022, its main source of income was the United States with 39.0 percent of the $3.36 trillion recorded that year. In second place was Mexico with 27.9 percent and China with 24.6 percent.
The company serves more than 60 automotive customers, including: BMW, Ford, General Motors, Renault–Nissan–Mitsubishi Alliance, Stellantis, Toyota and Volkswagen. In the Indian and Chinese market there are BYD, Chery, Great Wall, Geely, Xpeng and others.
Its product portfolio includes electric and hydraulic power steering systems, steer-by-wire systems, steering columns and intermediate shafts, driveline systems and software solutions.
The expansion of Nexteer Automotive in Querétaro will be on a land of 8,500 square meters and will be equipped with state-of-the-art equipment and machinery. By 2026, it is expected to employ 400 more people.
Nexteer Automotive began operations in Querétaro in 1996 with the manufacture of racks and pinions, components for steering systems. In 1999 it installed a new branch to produce steering columns and intermediate arrows for the auto parts sector; and finally, in 2018 they inaugurated their third plant dedicated to steering axles.
According to the business chamber National Auto Parts Industry (INA), Querétaro is the fifth largest economy in the manufacture of auto parts. In 2023 it manufactured $9.6 billion, a figure that contributed 7.9 percent of the total ($121.2 billion) of Mexico, the fourth largest producer in the world.