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DETROIT — General Motors plans to invest more than $1 billion in Mexico to produce electric vehicles, the company announced Thursday.
The investment in its Ramos Arizpe production complex is the first major announcement by the automaker for EV production in Mexico following billions of dollars in confirmed investments in the U.S. and Canada.
The facility will begin producing at least one EV beginning in 2023, GM said. The company declined to discuss what vehicle or vehicles will be produced there. The plant as well as supporting facilities currently produce the Chevrolet Equinox and Chevrolet Blazer as well as engines and transmissions.
The investment includes new capacity for battery packs and other electronic components such as electric motors, which will begin during the second half of this year. It also includes a new paint shop, which is scheduled to begin operations in June, according to a translated press release from the company.
The Ramos Arizpe plant is expected to be GM’s fifth manufacturing site in North America to produce electric vehicles following announcements for two plants in Michigan and others in Tennessee and Ontario, Canada.
GM is expected to continue to build or convert plants to EV facilities globally as it moves to become an automaker that exclusively offers electric vehicles by 2035. That includes at least 30 new EVs by 2025 under a $27 billion investment plan in electric and autonomous vehicles during that time frame.
