VW to invest $118 mln to kick off Mexico engine plant expansion

MEXICO CITY Thu Nov 7, 2013 5:07pm EST

MEXICO CITY Nov 7 (Reuters) - Volkswagen AG said on Thursday it would invest $118 million to kick off the expansion of its engine plant in Silao, Guanajuato, to make components for a new configuration of its EA 888 engines.
Civil engineering work will begin immediately and production of the new motors is slated for the first quarter of 2016, the company said in a statement.

The $550 million Silao plant opened in January, and has an annual output capacity of 330,000 engines.

From 2000 to 2013, vehicle production in Mexico has risen almost 3 percent annually, compared with declines in the United States and Canada of 1.3 percent and 2.4 percent, respectively, according to Boston Consulting Group.

Last year, Mexico attracted $3.7 billion in announced investments by automakers alone, matching the U.S. total, according to the Center for Automotive Research in Ann Arbor, Michigan.

 (Writing by Simon Gardner; Editing by Ken Wills)