As a result of the establishment of three new automotive plants in Mexico, Honda, Mazda and Nissan will stimulate the production of auto parts in 2013. The National Autoparts Industry (INA, for its acronym in Spanish) predicts that in 2013, after the three plants commence operations, the autoparts production will grow from between 15% to 20% and reach a total value of $83 billion dollars production value. INA president Óscar Albín stated that in order to meet demand for automotive components required by the new manufacturing plants, forty new autoparts factories will be constructed in 2012. INA did not go into detail as far as which companies will invest in the autoparts sector but commented that the majority are companies with transnational operations. “For this year, we foresee the construction of 40 new plants. While some are expansions of existing plants, they are all well known Tier 1 plants (manufacturers that directly supply assembly plants) and will be established throughout the country,” indicated Albín. The new autoparts factories will be located in the main automotive centers in the Bajío, Aguascalientes and northern Mexico areas. Albín continued, “the arrival of suppliers in the country is due to the strategy employed by assembly plants, which entails buying more components in Mexico to save on logistics and exchange costs.” Currently, the content of Mexican components in automobiles manufactured in Mexico for export is between 60% and 70%. In the case of components incorporated into automobiles manufactured in Mexico and exported to South America, the content of Mexican autoparts is 35%. “If the engine and transmission of any vehicle are made in Mexico, the content of Mexican components is higher,” said the organization’s representative. According to the Mexican Automotive Industry Association (AMIA, for its acronym in Spanish), the exportation of vehicles from Mexico is diversifying toward growing markets such as South America, Asia and Africa to depend less on the demand of vehicles in the United States, pursuant to which a greater quantity of autoparts is required. In 2011, autoparts manufacturers produced components valued at $66 billion dollars, 16% more than in 2010, and generated 600,000 direct jobs in that sector. “With this number of jobs created, we have recovered and surpassed the employment level we had prior to the economic crisis,” added Albín. The interest of autoparts manufacturers in becoming suppliers for the new Mexican assembly plants is so great that the Japan External Trade Organization (JETRO) has received 120 applications from companies seeking supply agreements with Honda, Mazda or Nissan.