Halla Visteon opens fourth Mexican plant

By Park Jin-hai

Halla Visteon Climate Control (HVCC), a leading auto parts manufacturer, started its production on its fourth Mexican plant.

The new facility aims to support its growing business with global vehicle manufacturers in the region, announced the company on Monday.

The new plant in Queretaro, in central Mexico will manufacture automotive heating, ventilation and air conditioning (HVAC) units for automakers.

“With the strategic location of the new plant, we will be able to supply parts more expediently as well as fully supporting our customers in the region,” said Park Yong-hwan, HVCC president.

Initially, it will have the capacity to produce 260,000 the HVAC system modules annually, but plants to expand it to more than 500,000 units a year.

HVCC currently has three wholly owned manufacturing operations in Ciudad Juarez, located in northern Mexico, supplying parts to Ford and Nissan.

Shin Chung-kwan, an analyst at KB Investment and Securities, said that its plant is expected to supply parts to Kia Motors, which will build a $1 billion production plant in Mexico by 2016.

“Due to the lower labor costs, accessibility to North American market and higher number of free trade agreements Mexico has made with other countries, it has emerged as the one of the most favored destinations to build automobile production facilities,” he said. “By having its fourth plant, HVCC seems to seeking an upper hand in the sprawling market.”

Meanwhile, the company jointly with Hyundai Motor developed an innovative automobile air-cooling system, which will be mounted on the Hyundai Motor’s upcoming hybrid and electric vehicle models.