Ford set to build more cars in Mexico

By 2018 Ford will have shifted production of its next-generation compact cars from its Wayne sited assembly plant in Michigan to Mexico in the next couple of years.

JLR heading for Mexico plant?

Could JaguarLandRover (JLR) be heading to build a vehicle assembly plant in Mexico?

Ford to make new engine in Mexico

Ford is investing US$2.5 billion in new engine and transmission plants in the Mexican states of Chihuahua and Guanajuato

When is a Merc not a Merc?

So, when is a Mercedes-Benz pick-up not a Mercedes pick-up? The answer, it would seem, is a when it is a Nissan pick-up, or a Renault pick-up.

Blue Diamond is set for a revamp

In the same way that production of castings at 5565 Brookville Road, Indianapolis, Indiana ends in 2015 (see next news story), so too will Ford Motor Company end its Blue Diamond truck-making joint venture with Navistar.

Mexican bank to work with automotive sector

The Mexican bank Banco Nacional de Comercio Exterior (Bancomext) is to begin offering automotive suppliers credit at preferential rates.

Daimler mulls plans for next Sprinter van

Daimler AG will invest a combined €450 million to produce the next generation Mercedes-Benz Sprinter in two plants at Düsseldorf and Ludwigsfelde, but the German vehicle maker will build more vans in the US to increase its competitiveness.

Part of the new investment will be used to modernize the body shop, paint shop, and assembly line at Düsseldorf.

Is JLR paving the way for a US plant?

Is JaguarLandRover (JLR) mulling an ambitious plan to build a 200,000 cars-a-year assembly plant in the US? According to the London, UK-based Sunday Times it is.

The news comes as the company officially opens a new 130,000 vehicles-a-year plant in China and later this month is set to open its much-heralded i54 engine manufacturing facility in Wolverhampton, UK.

Toyota heading for Mexico too?

After Kia Motors, could Toyota Motor Corporation be seeking a location for a new plant in Mexico?

According to rumours, the automaker is understood to be reviewing several Mexican states and company executives have met with Mexican federal officials for preliminary talks on the potential new plant, according to sources “with direct knowledge of the matter”. 

Mexico: here we come, say BMW, Kia

BMW is to build a new 150,000-a-year vehicle assembly plant in San Luis Potosí, Mexico. The new plant comes online in 2019 and will employ 1,500.

BMW AG board member responsible for production, Harald Kruger, said: "Mexico is an ideal location for the BMW Group and will be another important plant within our production network. This decision underscores our commitment to the NAFTA region”.

Daimler, Nissan launch 300,000/y Mexico JV

Start-of-production (SOP) is planned in Mexico for 2017 at a Renault-Nissan/Daimler AG plant that will make 300,000 premium compact vehicles a year.

Renault-Nissan CEO Carlos Ghosn and Daimler chief executive officer Dieter Zetsche have announced their 50:50 joint venture that will see construction and operation of the new plant in Aguascalientes in north-central Mexico.

VW confirms EA888 has CGI cylinder block

Volkswagen AG has confirmed that the latest version of the EA888 engine, production of which has just started at the company’s which new engine factory in Silao, Mexico, does have a cylinder block cast in compacted graphite iron (CGI).

Wolfsburg officials decline to name the foundry but most likely it is Tupy SA, in Joinville, Brazil, the world’s leading supplier of CGI cylinder blocks. Tupy already sources CGI blocks to Audi, a VW subsidiary. Tupy SA uses SinterCast's CGI process control technology to achieve high standards of materials consistency and quality. For this contract, Tupy will source the CGI castings from its foundry in Saltillo, Mexico where SinterCast installed two of its lines earlier this year.

Officials at the German automaker also remain tight-lipped as to just how many of the engines it is currently building at the brand new plant.