Automotive Lighting, a subsidiary of Italy’s Magneti Marelli (Corbetta; www.magnetimarelli.com), is investing USD 35m (EUR 33m) to expand its production capacity in the USA in response to ongoing growth in the NAFTA region. The company will convert an existing plant in Independence Township, Oakland County / Michigan, into a facility dedicated to making headlamps. The new plant will create more than 360 jobs over five years. Magneti Marelli already has its regional headquarters and an R&D centre in Michigan, employing around 380 people.

"The US market is becoming more and more important for Magneti Marelli and this investment enables a more powerful production platform for the lighting business, supporting in the best way possible our local customers in the Michigan region,” stated Pietro Gorlier, Magneti Marelli’s CEO.

As a result of the expansion, the company has been awarded a USD 2m performance-based grant under the Michigan Business Development Program. Independence Township has also offered financial support to the project in the form of property tax abatement.