Nexteer Automotive has opened an assembly operation in Camaçari, Bahia, about 10 km from BYD’s vehicle plant. The site is intended to support vehicles produced in Brazil and adds to the supplier’s industrial presence in the country.
The new facility will carry out final assembly of column-assist electric power-steering systems, known as CEPS. Components and subassemblies will come from Nexteer’s international manufacturing network; the Bahia site will handle final assembly and the logistics needed for local supply. The operation therefore brings the final production steps closer to BYD without replacing the overseas production of those inputs.
Nexteer already operates a main Brazilian factory in Porto Alegre and another facility in Porto Real, Rio de Janeiro state. The company says the Bahia investment is intended to make supply more responsive and efficient. It also supplies steering systems to Ford, General Motors, Stellantis, Toyota and Volkswagen.
The Brazilian expansion follows Nexteer’s recent opening of a facility in Liuzhou, China, whose area exceeds 40,000 square metres and includes production, R&D and testing facilities. In August, the company also introduced an actuator for steer-by-wire systems, which do not use a mechanical link between the steering wheel and the road wheels.