BMW planning major investment in Mexico, minister says

MEXICO CITY (Reuters) - German carmaker BMW is planning a new major investment in the central Mexican state of San Luis Potosi, where the company already has a plant, Mexican Foreign Minister Marcelo Ebrard said Friday.

A day earlier, Ebrard and President Andres Manuel Lopez Obrador had said BMW was investing around 800 million euros ($866.64 million) in San Luis Potosi, without specifying whether it was a new outlay in Mexico.

"The president has asked us to speed up investments in our country," Ebrard told reporters following a diplomatic event. "He already announced a very important investment which will be made in San Luis Potosi, by BMW."

The foreign minister did not specify what the investment would go toward.

BMW, which operates three plants in Latin America, opened the billion-dollar San Luis Potosi site in 2019. It currently manufactures the 3 Series, the 2 Series Coupe and M2 models.

BMW did not immediately respond to a Reuters request for comment.

Ebrard said Lopez Obrador had discussed the investment with his German counterpart and Germany's automotive industry. German President Frank-Walter Steinmeier visited Mexico in September.

Lopez Obrador said on Thursday that he and Ebrard would travel to San Luis Potosi in February.

($1 = 0.9231 euro)

(Reporting by Kylie Madry; editing by Jonathan Oatis)