MG Motor to build manufacturing plant, R&D center in Mexico

MEXICO CITY (Reuters) - MG Motor plans to build a manufacturing plant and a research and development center in Mexico, the carmaker said on Wednesday, adding that it would bring the additional benefit of gleaning market intelligence specific to Latin America.

The firm joins other electric-vehicle makers with plans to build plants in Mexico, the United States' largest trade partner, such as BYD and Tesla, although the latter recently put its plans on hold.

The move will allow MG, a formerly British brand now owned by China's SAIC Motor Corp, to "not only produce vehicles, but to also produce market intelligence specifically designed for and by Latin America," country head Zhang Wei said in a statement.

The firm did not say how much it plans to invest or provide a construction timeline, however.

MG Motor said its plant would aim to "make Mexico a pole for growth and expansion for SAIC Group and MG Motor in Latin America and the Caribbean."

It did not mention the United States, but added that sister brand IM, a luxury electric-vehicle line, also plans to enter the Mexican market.

In April, Reuters reported that Mexico's federal government, under pressure from the United States, would no longer offer incentives to Chinese automakers to invest.

Chinese automaker BYD has said the Mexico plant will not serve the U.S. market. In May, U.S. President Joe Biden rolled out steep tariff hikes on Chinese EVs.

Tesla CEO Elon Musk has said the plans to build a plant in Mexico are on hold to see if Republican candidate Donald Trump wins November's presidential elections, as the former president has said he would levy heavy tariffs on EVs made in Mexico.

(Reporting by Kylie Madry; Editing by Sonali Paul and Clarence Fernandez)