The South Korean manufacturer was at a disadvantage to attract American consumers to its electric models, because none of its models qualify for the tax incentive of 7,500 dollars (about 151,000 pesos) that the United States government grants to those interested in acquiring a car of this type. This benefit only applies to models manufactured in North America.
This, added to the stricter T-MEC rules of origin, has prompted manufacturers that do not yet have electric production in the region to accelerate investments.
Kia will start production of the EV9 at the Georgia plant in the United States in 2024. At the Mexican plant, it will assemble a crossover smaller, the EV6, which is currently doing that task in South Korea.
Although there is still no specific date for the start of production, Rivas explained that both the expansion at the Kia plant and the new gigafactory that Tesla is building in Santa Catarina will be ready before the end of the current administration.
The first units of the electric model will be focused on export markets.
Kia inaugurated the Pesquería plant in 2015 and produces the Forte and Rio gasoline-powered models there. The expansion carried out to produce the crossover EV6 in the Mexican plant is one of the 65 carried out by companies that were previously installed in the state so far during the administration.
Rivas explained that the model will be exhibited within the framework of America’s Mobility of the Future, which will take place on June 6 and 7 in the city of Monterrey, and which aims to be the first event focused on automotive electrification in the country and in America.
Strengthen the supply chain
Nuevo León already has 35 suppliers, including first and second level suppliers, who are in the value chain of electromobility companies, and he said that more investment announcements are expected in the coming months.
One of the investment projects that is on the table is that of a plant of the Taiwanese manufacturer foxconnwhich manufactures various electronic components -such as motherboards and chips – necessary for the operation of electric vehicles. “We already had an approach with them in Nuevo León, where they saw some options in Nuevo León. And then we saw them in Taiwan as well,” Rivas said.