Japanese car maker, Honda, has announced that it will soon expand its Honda de Mexico (HDM). This expansion will take place in the central Mexico city of Celaya, and represents a four hundred and seventy million dollar investment in plant and equipment for the purpose of initiating the production of continuously variable transmissions , or CVTs, by the second half of 2015. By start-up time Honda’s Mexican automotive industry subsidiary will be able to sustain an initial annual production capacity of three hundred and fifty thousand units.

As a result of the project, Mexican automotive industry employment in Celaya will reach fifteen hundred workers engaged in the production of CVT. Eventually, capacity at the plant will reach an annual output of seven hundred thousand units. Some of this production will be utilized at the new, adjacent Honda facility which will be utilized for the manufacture of the all new 2015 Fit model. Production of the Fit in Mexico will begin in early 2014. After production begins at the Celaya plant, Honda will have accomplished the task of installing production facilities in North America to address all automotive industry market segments from sub-compact passenger vehicles to light truck models.

The Mexico automotive industry has grown significantly over the last several years as a result of attracting investments from such globally known brands as Volkswagen, Nissan, Mazda, GM, Mercedes, Audi and Honda. The country is poised to break into the ranks of the top ten automotive manufacturing nations worldwide.

The new Mexico CVT manufacturing plant will be added to already installed capacity to build the same product at Honda plants that are currently operational in Ohio and Georgia. When the Celaya continuously variable transmission plant comes on line, Honda will boast a four thousand seven hundred person strong workforce at that location.

The full original article can be read at Motor Trend Magazine.