Tesla is eager to establish a manufacturing footprint in Mexico and according to a new report, may do so with an assembly plant near Mexico City.
Mexican presidential spokesman Jesus Ramirez recently told Reuters that the plant could be located at an industrial park roughly 2 miles from the Felipe Angeles International Airport (AIFA). This new site could serve as an important export hub for the electric car manufacturer.
“Tesla is looking at investing in that area to take advantage of AIFA,” Ramirez said. He also told local newspaper El Heraldo de Mexico that Tesla will use the airport to export vehicles by air. “Tesla will invest there … in an assembly plant, to export directly by air.”
A Mexican official has told Reuters that Tesla has been shown the site but has not yet given any indications of its plans.
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This report comes just six weeks after it was claimed that Tesla is planning to establish a factory in the border state of Nuevo Leon near Monterrey. This could put the site near others operated by Kia and General Motors while also positioning it close to Tesla’s factory and headquarters in Texas. It has been claimed that land has already been acquired for the factory.
Elon Musk has been eager to establish a Tesla factory in Mexico for quite some time. Indeed, he met with Nuevo Leon Governor Samuel Garcia and local economic development officials in October 2022. Earlier last year, Garcia also visited Tesla’s factory in Austin, Texas after establishing an agreement with the carmaker to establish a dedicated traffic lane for Tesla suppliers at the Colombia border bridge checkpoint between Mexico and the United States.
