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Hota, which makes gears and other auto components primarily in
Taiwan, said it would begin construction on the factory in Santa
Teresa, near the U.S. border with Mexico, early next year and
mass production in 2025.
"With three years of COVID-19 and the U.S.-China trade war
changing globalization and creating regional supply chains, we
restarted our thinking about going to the United States to make
a deeper investment," Chairman David Shen told a news conference
in Taipei on Wednesday.
Proximity to North American customers, which account for 60% of
Hota's sales, and the flourishing U.S. electric vehicle (EV)
industry were also key factors, Shen said.
"We have the right infrastructure to meet the growing demands of
Taiwanese companies, and their manufacturing expertise is very
beneficial because we don't start it from scratch," New Mexico
Governor Michelle Lujan Grisham told Reuters in an interview
after the announcement.
"We can't compete with the Gear King," she said, referring to
Shen's nickname in Taiwan.
The state will provide $3 million in funding, with the potential
for additional tax credits.
Next door in Arizona, Taiwanese chipmaker TSMC has committed $40
billion to build two chip factories, amounting to one of the
largest foreign direct investments in U.S. history and
supporting Washington's plans to boost domestic chipmaking.
Hota is a key supplier to Tesla, GM and Ford.
James Huang, chairman of the Taiwan External Trade Development
Council, said EVs would be an important focus for bilateral
trade and especially in New Mexico.
"New Mexico will become a very important stronghold for the U.S.
electric vehicle supply chain, so the future impact of these
investments between Taiwan and the United States will be
wide-ranging," Huang said on the sidelines of a U.S.-Taiwan
business forum on Tuesday.
(Reporting by Sarah Wu; Editing by Mark Potter)
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