CLIA Defines 2026 Strategy for Industrial Competitiveness in AGS

The Aguascalientes Industrial Cluster (CLIA) held the first meeting of its 2026 Board of Directors, marking a strategic milestone to evaluate 2025 results and define priorities for the year ahead, with a strong focus on reinforcing the state’s industrial competitiveness. As Aguascalientes continues to consolidate its position within Mexico’s evolving manufacturing landscape, the meeting highlighted the importance of collaboration, productivity and long-term planning to sustain growth amid global shifts in production and supply chains.

To set a solid foundation for the year ahead, CLIA began the session with a comprehensive review of its 2025 performance, emphasizing the outcomes achieved through its Working Groups and their impact on the industrial ecosystem. CLIA presented the closing report of its 2025 Working Groups, which focused on business coordination, process optimization and sectoral integration. These efforts strengthened the cluster’s role as a collaborative platform linking companies, institutions and service providers, while driving shared solutions and operational efficiencies across the state’s industrial base.

Building on the momentum generated in 2025, the Board shifted its focus toward the strategic priorities that will guide CLIA’s activities in the coming year. The organization introduced its 2026 Work Plan, aimed at advancing strategic projects, boosting the productivity of member companies and enhancing the competitive capacity of Aguascalientes’ industrial base. The plan is framed within a global context shaped by nearshoring, supply chain reconfiguration and increasing manufacturing specialization, positioning local firms to capitalize on new investment and trade opportunities.

Recognizing that competitiveness increasingly depends on collaboration beyond individual firms, the Board reviewed initiatives designed to expand CLIA’s institutional reach. Proposals for strategic alliances were discussed, targeting stronger ties with key players from the industrial, academic and business sectors. These partnerships seek to generate greater added value for affiliated companies, while reinforcing innovation, workforce development and talent attraction across the region.

As discussions progressed, Board participation underscored the importance of governance models aligned with real industry needs. Active engagement from Board members reaffirmed a results-oriented and collaborative agenda focused on adaptability, competitiveness and sustainable growth. This governance approach reflects a shared commitment to aligning CLIA’s initiatives with the operational realities and future challenges facing Aguascalientes’ industrial sectors.

The session concluded by reinforcing CLIA’s broader role in the state’s economic development strategy. With its first 2026 meeting, the Aguascalientes Industrial Cluster reaffirmed its commitment to promoting industrial development, strengthening business coordination and positioning Aguascalientes as a competitive manufacturing hub within Mexico’s national landscape.

Aguascalientes Ends 2025 with MX$15 Billion in Investment Projects

The industrial momentum outlined by CLIA is mirrored by continued private-sector investment, including major expansions by global companies operating in the state. State-level data points to sustained investment momentum across multiple sectors. Aguascalientes closed 2025 with 29 new investment projects totaling more than MX$15 billion (US$833 million), generating 7,417 direct jobs. According to Cluster Industrial B2B’s whitepaper, Mapping of the Automotive Industry in Aguascalientes 2025, the automotive sector remains the backbone of the state’s economy, reported MBN.

Automotive manufacturing accounts for 36.7% of Aguascalientes’ gross domestic product and 85% of its total exports, while supporting more than 159,000 direct and indirect jobs. The investment pipeline announced in 2025 spans automotive, technology, agribusiness, energy and commercial services, strengthening economic diversification and reinforcing the industrial and logistics infrastructure needed to support export-oriented manufacturing.

The report also notes that these projects have deepened local value chains and expanded participation opportunities for domestic suppliers, particularly small and medium-sized enterprises. Between January and September 2025, Aguascalientes ranked fifth nationwide in attracting automotive investment, securing US$211.21 million in direct automotive inflows, alongside US$157.95 million allocated to industrial park development to meet future manufacturing demand.

Recently, MBN reported that Costco Wholesale announced a US$100 million investment to develop a new large-scale facility in Aguascalientes, marking the start of its 2026 strategic expansion in Mexico and a multi-decade growth plan for the retailer in the country.

The new facility will be built on a 60,000m2 site adjacent to Costco’s existing store at Boulevard Aguascalientes Norte 802. Once completed, the combined property will cover 90,000m2, making it one of the largest Costco locations in Mexico. According to Patricia Quiles, legal and real estate director of Costco Wholesale Mexico, current operations will continue without interruption during the nine-month construction period.

In its third-quarter 2025 report, Costco posted revenue of US$61.96 billion, an 8% year-over-year increase, though slightly below Wall Street’s average estimate of US$63.19 billion, as previously reported by MBN. Earnings, excluding certain items, reached US$4.28 per share, narrowly surpassing analysts’ expectations of US$4.24.