French automotive supplier Valeo inaugurated an addition to its Technical Development Center in Querétaro on Thursday.
Valeo will invest US $165 million in the new Valeo Mobility Technical Center (VMTC) as part of the company’s plan to invest US $500 million in Mexico over the next four years.
Jeffrey Shay, president of Valeo in North America, explained that the investment in Querétaro will focus on integrating skills and competencies from all engineering disciplines, including software, systems validation and electronic design.
Initially, Valeo, which supplies a wide range of products to automakers, will hire a team of 150 technicians but expects to employ more than 500 as the project progresses.
Querétaro Governor Mauricio Kuri presided over the Aug. 29 inauguration, posting his remarks on social media.
“This expansion … is a reflection of the fact that Querétaro is doing well,” Kuri wrote. “Above all, it reflects the great work that the people of Querétaro do every day. We wish Valeo the best of success in this new stage!”
The governor pointed out that nearly 9% of Valeo’s 113,000-strong global workforce is based in Mexico.
Kuri also lauded Valeo’s commitment to environmental sustainability, calling it a priority of his administration. In 2021, Valeo committed to achieving carbon neutrality by 2050 and expects to reach 45% of its objective by 2030.
Querétaro’s Sustainable Development Secretary Marco Antonio Del Prete said the state is now home to seven specialized automotive technical centers and more than 50 industrial technical centers overall.
“Querétaro is not only becoming a reference point for the auto sector but for industrial design as well,” he said.
Also at the inauguration, France’s Ambassador to Mexico Delphine Borione said Querétaro is one of the most dynamic regions in the world, citing the state’s burgeoning aerospace industry.
Borione described Querétaro as an attractive location for French companies to invest, citing the positive reviews offered by French multinational aerospace and defense corporation Safran and aircraft manufacturing company Airbus.
Marco Hernández, director of Valeo México, said the new center will change the way people think about mobility and automotive technology and will confirm Querétaro’s position as a center of innovation.
“The VMTC is not just a place where we develop advanced technologies,” Hernández said. “It will also be a meeting place for talented people across Mexico.”
With these people and their ideas, “we will create the future of the automotive sector based on software,” he added.
In the first six months of 2024, Querétaro received over US $6.35 billion in foreign direct investment, or 14% of total FDI to Mexico in the first semester of 2024.
With reports from Cluster Industrial, Mexico Industry and Noticias de Querétaro
