In addition to OEM growth nationwide, auto parts manufacturing in Tijuana is making significant strides forward.

Although Mexico’s westernmost border industrial hub is widely recognized for its preeminent position in the global aerospace, electronics and medical device industries, Tijuana is also home to many companies that make a significant contribution to the country’s burgeoning automotive sector. The State of Baja California is home to two Original Equipment Manufacturers (OEMs), a Kenworth truck manufacturing plant in Mexicali and a Toyota Tacoma pickup truck assembly. While the Kenworth Mexicana was established in 1960, the Toyota Tacoma plant began its operations in Tijuana in 2002. The driver of the automotive industry in Baja California, however, is activity related to auto parts manufacturing in Tijuana.

According to the president of the Tijuana chapter of Mexico’s National Chamber of Industry and Transformation (CANACINTRA), Rene Romandia Tamayo, the region’s automotive sector has grown by a healthy 10% over the course of 2015 to date. This tops the 8.6% rate of expansion registered, so far, by the Mexican automotive industry nationwide. The representative of the industrial chamber attributes this positive set of circumstances to an increase in auto parts manufacturing activity in Tijuana by companies that are new to the area, as well as expanded activity by those companies already resident in the region. Auto parts manufacturing in Tijuana and Baja California is the domain of more than 80 companies that hold industry positions as Tier 1, 2 and Tier 3 suppliers.

These companies produce a wide range of products. Among them are:

  • automotive cables and batteries;
  • wire harnesses;
  • starters and alternators;
  • exhaust systems and mufflers;
  • gaskets and seals;
  • wheel rims;
  • air conditioning system components;
  • speakers for car audio;
  • fiber glass parts;
  • automotive carpeting.

Included among some of the better known firms involved in auto parts manufacturing in Tijuana are: Delphi Connection Systems, Continental Structural Plastics, the Bose Corporation, Bourns de Mexico and Goodrich.

As a result of the growth of auto parts manufacturing in Tijuana, Romandia Tamayo’s company, Motoparts de Mexico (MPA), recently held its first job fair for the purpose of filling 250 positions that have been created due to expanded activity and sales. The president of the Tijuana Chapter of CANACINTRA believes that, along with the manufacture of new parts, the region has an important role to play in the niche market of parts remanufacture in Mexico.