Hyundai to invest $130 mn in new plant in Mexico

Mexico City  : South Korean automaker Hyundai Motors Company’s Mexican unit said it planned to invest $130 million in a new plant that will manufacture aluminum auto parts in Tijuana, a border city in the northwestern state of Baja California.

The plant is expected to create 300 direct jobs and make up to 900,000 units of three new automotive products for different models sold in the US, Hyundai said.

Hyundai Translead chief Kenny Lee laid the cornerstone for the new plant, the automaker said.

The plant is expected to start operating in 2014 and “production could rise to 1.5 million units when it is at 100 percent of capacity”, Hyundai said.

Hyundai de Mexico is a division of Hyundai Kia Automotive Group, the No. 6 automaker in the world and the second-largest corporation in South Korea.

Hyundai designs, manufactures and sells automobiles and auto parts around the world, employing more than 57,000 people.

The South Korean automaker has a network of more than 900 dealers in North America.

Hyundai has a plant in Tijuana, located near San Diego, California, that manufactures dry and refrigerated cargo containers, as well as other transportation products, for the North American market.