GM will invest $5 billion into Mexican facilities by 2018

General Motors is already one of the leading automakers in Mexico, but there’s always room for expansion. The American automaker has announced that it will be investing $5 billion between 2013 and 2018 in order to double the capacity at its four plants in the Latin American county. It has already invested $1.4 billion since 2013, which leaves $3.6 to be invested by 2018.

Ernesto Hernandez, the managing director for General Motors de Mexico, says that the company plans to upgrade and expand its plants in the Mexican states of Coahuila, Guanajuato, Mexico, and San Luis Potosí. This move would not only serve to create an additional 5,600 jobs for the company itself, but 40,000 more for its suppliers as well.

“With this investment, General Motors will double its production capacity of vehicles, engines and transmissions,” said Ildefonso Guajardo, the Economy Minister of Mexico, during an event in Mexico City, as quoted by Reuters.

Mexico is the biggest automotive manufacturer in Latin America and the seventh biggest in the world, according to the federal government. The nation’s numerous free trade agreements, including one with the United States, paired with both its proximity to the United States and its relatively cheap labor, have made Mexico an increasingly appealing location for foreign automotive manufacturers to setup shop.

This news from General Motors brings the total investment into Mexico’s automotive industry during President Enrique Peña Nieto’s first two years in office to a whopping $19 billion. From January to November of this year, automotive production in the country has grown by 8.7% from the same period last year, and exports have risen by 8.2%