As a result of recent investments by U.S., Japanese, Korean and German auto manufacturers in Mexico, an intense wave of automotive indirect supplier activity has occurred. This has provided Mexico with a tremendous opportunity to continue the success of its automotive industry. Such investments have opened up new opportunities at different levels of the automotive supply chain, in which the public and private sectors have designed strategies to strengthen the participation of Mexican suppliers. The challenge is to comply with the high-volume production requirements, as well as requirements for optimal quality. The participation of automotive suppliers in Mexico’s domestic industry brings benefits to companies that have decided to establish themselves in Mexico to do business. Additionally, and no less important, is the role being played by automotive research and academic centers devoted to the automotive industry. Alliances established between automotive suppliers and research institutions can and must support the development of new technology and reinforce existing strengths in the automotive sector. Underscoring this point is the work being conducted at the Instituto Tecnologico y de Estudios Superiores de Monterrey (ITESM), the National Autonomous University of Mexico (UNAM), and the Autonomous Universities in Guadalajara and Guanajuato. Similarly, an interesting project that was recently initiated is the Queretaro automotive cluster, which was started by a university to reinforce the training of technical and administrative personnel required by the Mexican automotive industry.
