New Mexico: Electric car maker Tesla plans to build a manufacturing plant in the northern Mexican industrial hub of Monterrey, Mexican President Andres Manuel Lopez Obrador has said.
According to The Wall Street Journal, Lopez Obrador, who spoke several times in recent days with Tesla Chief Executive Officer Elon Musk, added at his morning press conference on Tuesday that details of the investment would be made known on Wednesday. “This will mean a considerable investment, and many jobs,” he said. Obrador said that Tesla agreed to a series of commitments to address water-shortage problems in Monterrey, including the use of recycled water in the manufacture of electric vehicles. “They are going to help,” he said.
Tesla didn’t immediately respond to a request for comment, WSJ reported.
Growing demand for electric vehicles has set off a frenzy in the US for building new car plants, with foreign-owned car companies targeting the US for expansion and EV startups building out their manufacturing capabilities.
According to WSJ, Elon Musk said last year that the electric-vehicle maker would likely need about a dozen factories to reach its goal of selling 20 million vehicles annually by 2030. Tesla produced over 1.3 million vehicles last year and has been steadily adding production capacity at its plants in the US, China and Germany.
The carmaker said in January it would spend more than USD 3.6 billion to expand its plant near Reno, Nevada, where it assembles batteries and produces car parts, according to WSJ. Tesla also filed paperwork for a potential USD 775-million expansion at its electric-vehicle plant near Austin, Texas.
Mexico, the world’s seventh-largest automaker and fifth-largest exporter of cars and light trucks, has stepped up its efforts to advance the production of electric vehicles. Vehicles and auto parts account for around 3.5% of Mexico’s gross domestic product and a third of its manufactured goods exports.
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