140+ Companies Powering the Rio South Texas Region Autocluster

The Rio South Texas Region is accelerating its position as a powerhouse in the North American automotive industry.

In July 2025, the Council for South Texas Economic Progress (COSTEP) officially launched the Binational Autocluster, a strategic initiative that unites 140+ automotive companies, universities, and economic development entities across South Texas and Northern Tamaulipas, Mexico.

Cluster Overview:

This unique cross-border alliance is designed to strengthen supply chains, accelerate innovation, and create new opportunities for the automotive sector. By integrating OEMs, suppliers, educational institutions, and regional developers, the cluster expands industrial capabilities and supports the creation of high-value jobs on both sides of the border.

Strategic Focus Areas:

• Future mobility: Positioning Rio South Texas Region as a hub for electric vehicle (EV) production and advanced automotive technologies.
• Binational collaboration: Leveraging seamless cross-border cooperation to enhance supply chain efficiency.
• Industrial leadership: Anchoring the region as a competitive node in global value chains.

The Binational Autocluster is part of the larger Texas-Mexico Automotive Supercluster (TMASC), a corridor that has attracted $10B+ in automotive investments over the last decade from OEMs such as Tesla, Stellantis, and BMW. In 2023 alone, $1.5B was invested to adapt plants for EV production, signaling the region’s commitment to industry transformation.

With multimodal logistics, 18 international bridges, major highways (I-35, MX-85, MX-57), ports of entry, and foreign trade zones, the Rio South Texas Region stands at the heart of a nearshoring-ready ecosystem that connects global companies directly to U.S. and Mexican markets.

Here, automotive excellence meets binational collaboration — building the vehicles and technologies that move the world.

Rio South Texas Region Works For You.