Mexico City, May 4 (IANS/EFE) The Mexican unit of Japanese auto giant the Honda Motor Co. announced plans to invest $470 million in the construction of a transmission plant in Celaya, in the central state of Guanajuato.
The president of Honda Mexico, Isamu Yamaki, and Tetsuo Iwaumura, COO of Honda North American regional operations, made an announcement before Mexico's secretary of the economy, Ildefonso Guajardo, that the new plant joins the others that the company has in this country, the company said in a communique.
The Mexican economy secretary said that Mexico is currently the eight-largest manufacturer of vehicles in the world and the fourth largest exporter of light vehicles.
The new plant will start up operations in the second half of 2015, with a production capacity of 350,000 transmissions per year, with the plan to boost production to double that number over the coming years.
It will create 1,500 jobs by the time it reaches its maximum production of 700,000 units per year.
This is the third Honda plant in the Americas. It will make transmissions both for cars manufactured in Mexico as well as for the brand's automotive plants in other parts of North America.
--IANS/EFE
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