Chinese truck manufacturer Foton has announced it will invest US $100 million to build a new assembly plant in the municipality of Tlajomulco de Zúñiga, part of the greater metropolitan area of Guadalajara, Jalisco.

Foton Motor, headquartered in Beijing with assets exceeding 50 billion Yuan (US $6.9 billion) and 300,000 employees, designs and manufactures trucks, buses and sport utility vehicles. 

This will be Foton’s second facility in the state of Jalisco, demonstrating its satisfaction with the state’s business environment and its production facilities. 

LDR Solutions, the company that manages Foton distribution in Mexico, says the first vehicles will roll off the assembly line in January 2025. Foton has 24 distributors across Mexico and anticipates adding 15 more by the end of the year.

Once completed, the plant will employ a workforce of 115 people and will produce 1,000 pick-up models per month, according to LDR Solutions. Some of the pick-ups will feature gasoline motors, some will be built with diesel engines and others will be hybrid vehicles.

Initially, the production will target the Mexican and South American markets, but long-term plans include producing electric vehicles for the North American market.

Javier Rodríguez Murrieta, director of operations at LDR Solutions, told reporters that Foton selected Jalisco due to the state’s sturdy automotive ecosystem, its highly capable labor force and its geographical location with respect to the bigger domestic markets.

“Jalisco has ideal labor force conditions and reliable security in comparison to other states,” Rodríguez said. “We also appreciate its location, the proximity to the ports of Manzanillo (Colima) and Lázaro Cárdenas (Michoacán) will facilitate the importation of parts from China.”

Roberto Arechederra, Jalisco’s economic development minister, said the new investment results from the ministry’s outreach and promotional efforts. “I believe the new plant will produce a new wave of investment in our state, especially as suppliers will want to be closer to the production facilities here.”

BYD, a large Chinese electric vehicle manufacturer, is said to be deciding between Jalisco and neighboring Michoacán for its first plant in Mexico. 

Arechederra told reporters the Foton investment further puts to rest the notion that Tesla’s recent decision to pause plans to build a new plant in Mexico would damage Mexico’s automotive sector.

“We continue to receive investment proposals and several companies have assured us their suppliers are making plans to move to the state,” he said. “Some companies already established here have even told us they plan to increase their investments in the coming years.”

With reports from Cluster Industrial and El Economista