There is a belief that the U.S. economic slowdown will be devastating for Mexico and Central America due to its overdependence on the U.S. market. But this belief may be wrong.

Mexico may receive as much as $20 billion in foreign direct investment this year, 11 percent more than a prior forecast, as the second-biggest Latin American economy’s low wages and proximity to the U.S. draw producers.

Mexico has manufacturing costs 25 percent lower than the U.S., is producing more engineers than other countries and is signing free trade pacts with nations like Colombia, Ferrari said. The expected $20 billion compares to $18 billion estimated earlier this year by Finance Minister Ernesto Cordero.

In the past year, Mexico has attracted auto manufacturers like Volkswagen AG (VOW), Nissan Motor Co., Mazda Motor Co. and General Motors Co. (GM) to announce investments in the country of more than $400 million each.

Honda Motor Co., Japan’s third-largest automaker, said on Aug. 12 it plans to build an $800 million factory in the central Mexican city of Celaya.

“We’re expecting to have more of those announcements before the year’s end,” Ferrari said, declining to identify the auto manufacturers that may open factories in Mexico.

Han llegado distintas empresas a Guanajuato incluyendo Volkswagen, Pirelli, Schaeffler, Mazda, Honda. Otras 18 empresas del sector automotriz analizan instalarse en el estado de Guanajuato, según información de la Secretaría de Desarrollo Económico. El valor de la producción del sector automotriz supera los 26 mil millones de pesos al año y representa el 8.5% del Producto Interno Bruto de Guanajuato, pero con la instalación de las nuevas empresas se prevé un notable crecimiento.