17 April, 2023 | #DatozByDatoz
Investment announcements for the manufacturing and assembly of electric cars in Mexico by companies such as Tesla, BMW, General Motors, Ford, and Volkswagen, among others, have also encouraged investments from Tier 1 suppliers. One such example is ZF Group, which is one of the world’s largest suppliers.
ZF is a global technology company based in Germany that supplies systems for passenger cars, commercial vehicles, and industrial technology. The company offers products and software for established vehicle manufacturers and emerging providers of mobility and transportation services. ZF electrifies a wide range of vehicle types. In 2022, ZF reported sales of 43.8 billion euros. The company operates 168 production locations in 32 countries.
ZF has had a presence in Mexico since 1965, but it wasn’t until 2001 that it acquired its first plant in Guadalajara’s submarket El Salto, which is one of the main shock absorber production plants within the group. Currently, ZF has 19 plants in Mexico, located in the industrial markets of Aguascalientes, Chihuahua, Ciudad Juárez, Mexico City, Querétaro, Guadalajara, Monterrey, La Laguna, Reynosa, and San Luis Potosí.
Indeed, the market for electric vehicle equipment in Mexico is expanding, and since 2021, ZF Group has made several investments to strengthen its operations in the country. Monterrey, Querétaro, Guadalajara, and Ciudad Juárez are the markets where these investments have been concentrated.
According to Datoz’s Analytics 2.0 tool, ZF purchased a 215,000 ft2 build-to-suit (BTS) facility from Finsa in Finsa Guadalupe industrial park in Monterrey for the installation of an electronic technology manufacturing plant that will produce advanced technology systems and its first Research and Development center in the country.
In February 2023, ZF announced the installation of its third production plant in Querétaro, with an investment of 240 million euros. According to Analytics 2.0, the plant was installed in a speculative building owned by Vesta in Bernardo Quintana industrial park in El Marqués and was leased in 2Q 2021.
In the first half of 2022, the company leased more than 700,000 ft2 to AM Desarrollos Inmobiliarios in Querétaro Airport industrial park. However, an official announcement from ZF regarding this lease has not yet been made.
In the last week of March 2023, ZF announced an investment of 194 million dollars for the installation of a new plant in Ciudad Juárez. According to Analytics 2.0, this plant will be located in Fibra Nova industrial park and was leased to this real estate trust in 4Q 2022. With this plant, ZF will increase and complement the manufacturing of components for electric vehicles.
ZF produces a wide range of products in Mexico, including airbags, seat belts, steering wheels, brakes, electric suspension, shock absorbers, steering and suspension systems, among other products.