Magna has opened two new plants in Mexico--an interiors plant in Arteaga and a Cosma International plant in Ramos Arizpe, a company press release said. The interiors facility is spread on a 148,000 square foot area and will manufacture headliners and complete overhead systems and console. The company plans to hire 345 people at full production. The Cosma International plant has an area of 120,000 square feet and will employ 180 people when the plant reaches full production stage. The facility will focus on engineering and design including mechanical 2D and 3D assembly processing and compete 3D assembly line design.
Significance: Magna is expanding its footprints in Mexico owing to increasing demand from its customers. “As our customers expand their manufacturing footprint, Magna is there to support them with world-class design, engineering and manufacturing,” said Scott Paradise, Vice-President of Marketing and New Business Development of the Americas at Magna. Currently, Magna has 30 facilities in Mexico, of which 29 are manufacturing and assembly plants.
IHS Automotive thinks that while light vehicle sales in Mexico have remained relatively steady and credit conditions within the country are improving, the flow of cheap used cars from the US continues to flood the local used car market, negatively affecting trade-in values and sustaining downward pressure on new car demand. Against this backdrop, IHS sees Mexican light vehicle sales expanding 7.7% y/y to stay around one million units in 2013.
