CHICAGO — Automotive bearings producer NSK Corp. says it plans to build a $70-million manufacturing plant in Mexico.

Ann Arbor, Mich.-based NSK, a subsidiary of Tokyo-based NSK Ltd., said the Mexican subsidiary will allow it to better service expanding automobile production in Mexico and keep up with the expected growth in the automotive segment throughout the North American Free Trade Agreement (Nafta) region.

By expanding into Mexico, the company will also free up capacity at its existing plants in the United States and support NSK’s ability to manage exchange rate fluctuations, it said.

The new company will be called NSK Bearings Manufacturing Mexico SA de CV and will be located in Guanajuato, NSK said, noting that it expects to begin bearings production at the new facility in the spring of 2014.