El Bajío: Mexico’s most strategic industrial location

El Bajio’s automotive and auto parts manufacturing industries are the principal sectors for the region. Economic projections for 2020 show Mexico will produce more than 5 million vehicles annually under 13 brands, with the El Bajio states capturing half.

Between 2008 and 2018 companies such as Nissan, General Motors, Volkswagen, Ford, Honda, Fiat, Mazda, Daimler Trucks, Audi, KIA and Toyota, amongst others, have injected $25,000 million dollars to install or expand manufacturing facilities. El Bajio captured half of these investments.

In the El Bajio manufacturing region, the state of Queretaro is considered the top destination for aerospace and defense manufacturing. Queretaro has captured $1,300 million dollars in foreign direct investment (2013-2018), representing 45% of FDI for the sector.

In addition to aerospace parts manufacturing, maintenance, repair and overhaul (MRO) facilities to work on aeronautic structures is a growing sub-sector. The French Safran Group operates three MRO facilities in Queretaro.

Additionally, Safran is the largest employer in Mexico’s aerospace industry with more than 5,700 direct employees and two production plants in Querétaro, both Safran centers of excellence. One makes critical parts for the CFM56 and SaM146 engines and the other specializes in landing gear components for Airbus and Boeing airplanes.

At the GE IQ research center in Queretaro, Mexican engineers participated in the design of the GEnx turbine, one of the most efficient engines available. According to ProMexico, every two seconds a plane takes off with turbines developed by Mexican engineers.

• General Electric: airplane turbines, power systems
• Bombardier: fuselages, electrical systems, wing production
• Eurocopter: helicopters

As the heart of central Mexico, the El Bajio manufacturing mega region is held together by a network of highways, railroads, airports, interior ports and sea ports. The El Bajio region is mainland Mexico’s most strategic location, giving manufacturers and suppliers rapid access to North American and international global markets. Follow the links to the individual states that comprise the El Bajio region to learn more about their infrastructure and logistics capabilities.