Guanajuato stands out in its economic activity
By Lizete Hernández
May 4, 2022
One of every three vehicles produced in Mexico is made in Guanajuato
Guanajuato is positioned as the sixth most important state in the country in terms of its economy according to the National Institute of Statistics and Geography (Inegi), since the entity's Gross Domestic Product is only below Mexico City, State of Mexico. , Nuevo Leon, Jalisco and Veracruz.
The main productive activities in the states are commerce, construction, machinery and equipment manufacturing, the food industry, real estate services, and the rental of movable and intangible assets.
According to the Secretariat of Sustainable Economic Development (SDES), the automotive industry in the state of Guanajuato reported a 10% growth at the end of 2021, as well as 18% in the auto parts sector. The attraction of investments in this sector was replicated in municipalities outside the industrial corridor such as San Luis de la Paz, San Miguel de Allende and San Felipe.
The entity registered greater recovery and growth, standing out in the specialization for the manufacture of auto parts , where it was positioned in fourth place at the national level and in the first place in the country, in the production of light vehicles.
In the auto parts sector , the entity grew above the national average with a 10% rise in production at the state level, generating 2,000 jobs for the expansion of some companies.
The Guanajuato Automotive Cluster (Claugto) reported that, in 2021, the entity reported a 6% growth in the manufacture of vehicles and 10% in auto parts. Likewise, 50% of the companies in the Bajío area have considerations of new projects for 2022, among which are the increase in the workforce during January-June of this year.
From January to August 2021, Guanajuato had a national participation of 11% in the production of auto parts with 7,036 million dollars.
Likewise, the automotive industry in Guanajuato maintains between 180,000 and 190,000 jobs.
GUANAJUATO INDUSTRIAL MARKET
According to the latest report from the Newmark firm, Guanajuato has strengthened its infrastructure and the quality of its workforce for the automotive, aerospace, warehouse, transportation and food industries.
Likewise, the vacancy rate of industrial space continues to show a downward trend, going from 5.3% in the 3Q to 5% in the 4Q of 2021.
Guanajuato closed 2021 with the addition of warehouses in the market and some closures, thus having a Class A inventory of 8.1 million m2 as of the fourth quarter of last year and an increase of 50,000 m2 under construction. In December, the sale of an industrial portfolio made up of 14 buildings was announced, as well as investments in industrial fiber in the state.
In Celaya, the investment of US capital in the Railway Bypass, which includes 21 kilometers of track, was announced. León registered in 2021 the incorporation of new industrial buildings, where percentage increases were registered in the absorption values from the third to the fourth quarter of 14 percent.
AUTOMOTIVE PLANTS CONSOLIDATE IN GUANAJUATO
In Guanajuato, the assemblers of Toyota, Honda, Mazda, General Motors, Hino, the transmission plant of Ford, Oshkosh Equipment Manufacturing and the engine plant of Volkswagen are installed. Also, companies that came to Guanajuato stand out to consolidate themselves with various expansions and investments such as Kasai, Hirotec México, Faurecia, Nivea, Pirelli, Michelin, Denso, ZKW, Macauto, BHTC, among others.
The average life of automotive companies in the state of Guanajuato is seven or eight years, so most are young firms that adapt their processes through corporate decisions.
There are currently more than 130 companies of Japanese origin installed in the entity, all of which arrived in the state in the last decade. Kasai represents the pioneering automotive suppliers of plastic injection in its style that settled in the region.
“This type of company changes the dynamics that exist in the region, diversifies it due to the type of products they offer and also because they promote local suppliers to be known globally through Tier1 such as Kasai”, commented Alfredo Arzola.
INTERIOR PORT, THE SILICON VALLEY OF GUANAJUATO
Until now, Guanajuato Puerto Interior (GPI), located in Silao, brings together more than 18 countries represented by more than 120 companies, mostly Japanese, making the state one of the most important for the automotive industry.
This is the only industrial park considered a dry port, as it has an internal customs office, a controlled area, a campus to promote specialized education and training, internal industrial parks, proximity and connection to the Guanajuato International Airport, a railway cargo terminal, a community services, in addition to a business district equipped with a shopping center, banking and financial services.
Guanajuato Puerto Interior is a world-class logistics and business center, the companies that already operate in the interior have modern facilities, with an avant-garde, functional and ecological architectural design.
Companies like Pirelli are the ones with the largest extension in built space. At least 60% of the total extension of the Inner Port is made up of Japanese companies, followed by German, American, Canadian and Spanish.
For their part, other countries such as Tunisia, Slovenia, Poland and the Netherlands have at least one company installed in GPI.