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Mexican electric vehicle project will make cars in Sonora, Sheinbaum confirms

Electric vehicle plug-in
Getty Images

Sonora will be one of the states to produce the first Mexican electric vehicle, the country’s president confirmed.

The cars are called Olinia, named for the Nahautl word for “to move.” Mexican President Claudia Sheinbaum plans for them to one day be an affordably priced, made-in-Mexico EV option.

Sheinbaum said in her regular morning press conference that there will be multiple production facilities across the country, but one will be in the state of Sonora.

“We’re looking for that niche, to produce a compact car that’s less expensive than what’s on the market now,” Sheinbaum said.

Sonora already manufactures non-electric vehicles, with a Ford assembly plant located in the state capital, Hermosillo. Many of those trucks and SUVs are shipped across the border for consumers in the United States.

Sheinbaum didn’t specify whether the facility would be in Hermosillo or another part of the state.

“The state recognizes the support of the president of Mexico for Sonora to be one of the main manufacturing headquarters, because of its industrial nature and promotion of sustainable development,” Sonora Gov. Alfonso Durazo said in a statement.

More news from KJZZ's Hermosillo Bureau

Nina Kravinsky is a senior field correspondent covering stories about Sonora and the border from the Hermosillo, Mexico, bureau of KJZZ’s Fronteras Desk.