Local investment and streamlined customs help draw manufacturer of zero-emission commercial vehicles to Foreign Trade Zone
Source: GreenPower Motor Company Inc.
Local grants, tax incentives and streamlined customs help draw manufacturer of zero-emission commercial vehicles to Foreign Trade Zone
GreenPower, a manufacturer of all-electric school buses and medium- and heavy-duty commercial vehicles, has announced a new deal with the New Mexico Economic Development Department (EDD) to build a new 135,000 sq.-ft. production facility in Santa Teresa, New Mexico. The new facility is expected to create 340 new jobs.
The Vancouver, B.C.-based company currently builds vehicles in Southern California and West Virginia, but the New Mexico site will also be its base of U.S. operations. It will be located in a designated Foreign Trade Zone, which will give GreenPower access to the American Development Bank, smooth over customs procedures, and help reduce trade costs. It is also located near a large Mexican border crossing.
The ability to make capital decisions without fear
Fraser Atkinson, GreenPower CEO
of tariff uncertainties is a game changer
in the current environment
But that wasn’t the only draw for GreenPower. The state committed a total of $14.6 million in financial incentives, which include $5 million through the New Mexico Local Economic Development Act (LEDA) program which helps local governments support businesses and jobs; $4.6 million in job training incentive funds; $1.36 million in Rural Jobs Tax Credit; and $3.65 million as part of New Mexico’s High-Wage Jobs Tax Credit program.
“Santa Teresa’s designation as a Foreign Trade Zone offers substantial benefits for GreenPower,” said Fraser Atkinson, CEO of GreenPower in a statement. “The FTZ allows us to streamline customs procedures and cost-effective import and export operations. Most importantly it allows the Company to take financial advantage of the designation related to inventory, parts and distribution. The ability to make capital decisions without fear of tariff uncertainties is a game changer in the current environment.”
Last year, GreenPower signed a $5 million contract to supply New Mexico with electric school buses. The state has a mandate of requiring all state agency fleets to be zero-emission by 2035.
GreenPower expects to move into its new facility on June 1.
