Tesla official Eugenio Grandio has announced that the company is looking for local suppliers of parts in Mexico as the American electric vehicle (EV) maker prepares to build its first factory in the Latin American country.
He told reporters on Sunday that Tesla’s co-founder Elon Musk is ready to cooperate with Mexican firms that can grow with his company.
“There’s gonna be a lot of possibilities for companies from all over the world coming to Mexico, joining us, and creating also talent that could innovate internally to help us continue growing,” Grandio stressed.
He also referred to “a lot of possibilities where some older [Mexican] suppliers that used to make components for combustion cars will transition to electric.”
The Tesla official made it clear that “the table is set” for a transition to EVs in Mexico as the US, Europe and China have implemented regulations, such as limits on selling combustion engine vehicles, or tax credits. He stressed that Latin America “cannot be left behind” and also should mull taking similar steps to foster EV adoption.
“These cars are being made, but are not being sold in Mexico. We need to step up our regulation,” Grandio said.
This follows Musk earlier confirming that the Austin, Tesla’s Texas-based hub, will build the factory in the northern Mexican state of Nuevo Leon, a day after President Andres Manuel Lopez Obrador revealed an agreement on the plant’s construction in Monterrey.
“We’re super excited about it. We’ll continue to expand production at all of our existing factories. So this is not moving output to anywhere, from anywhere. This is supplemental production,” Musk pointed out.
The move is part of the so-called “nearshoring” phenomenon, whereby US companies seek to relocate closer to American consumers and avoid the supply-chain- and cost-related problems they experienced with international shipping during the COVID-19 pandemic.