SEOUL, POSCO International Corp. said Wednesday it has completed a drive motor core plant in Mexico in a bid to tap the North American market for electric vehicle components.
The dedication ceremony for the factory on a 63,925-square-meter lot was held Tuesday in Ramos Arizpe, northeastern Mexico, nearly 13 months after ground was broken, POSCO International said.
The general trading arm of South Korean steel giant POSCO Holdings Inc. said it plans to start work on a second drive core plant during the first half of next year.
When the second factory is completed, the two facilities will have a combined annual capacity of 2.5 million drive motor cores, one of the core components of EVs.
This photo provided by POSCO International Corp. on Oct. 18, 2023, shows a dedication ceremony taking place for its drive motor core plant in Ramos Arizpe, northeastern Mexico, a day earlier.
POSCO International said it has chosen the Mexican industrial city as the site for its drive motor core plant in an effort to eliminate trade barriers for the EV component market and cut logistical costs.
Ramos Arizpe is a car industry hub in northeastern Mexico with a cluster of major automakers and parts manufacturers. Nearly 300 kilometers away from the U.S state of Texas, it is widely deemed a beachhead for entering the North American market for green cars.
With the global EV market growing explosively, POSCO International has been redoubling efforts to boost production of drive motor cores, clinching a series of supply deals.
Last year, POSCO International signed a US$460 million deal with North American carmakers to provide drive motor cores until 2030. In September this year, it won an order to supply 2.72 million drive motor cores to Hyundai Motor Group’s new North American plant.
In an effort to expand its e-mobility business, POSCO International is targeting to have an annual capacity of 4.5 million drive motor cores by 2030, while planning to operate overseas factories in Poland, China and India down the road.
With that, POSCO International said it will push to secure more than 10 percent of the world market by establishing a global production and distribution system of more than 7 million drive motor cores per year.
POSCO International said preparations are under way to start operations of a recently completed plant in China with an annual capacity of 900,000 units.
Ground will be broken for a factory in Poland in the first half of next year, with the aim of setting it in operation during the second half of 2025, the company added.
Source: Yonhap News Agency