DEARBORN, MI—Ford Motor Co. will invest $1.6 billion to build a new assembly plant in Mexico for the manufacture of small vehicles. Work on the facility will start this summer in the state of San Luis Potosi, and the factory will create 2,800 direct jobs.

TEMPE, AZ—The U.S. manufacturing sector resumed growth in March, bolstered by strength in new orders. The Institute for Supply Management said its index of national factory activity rose to 51.8 from 49.5 the month before. A reading above 50 indicates expansion in the manufacturing sector and a reading below 50 indicates contraction.

PALO ALTO, CA—Tesla Motors Inc. has received more than 325,000 reservations for its new Model 3 sedan. The pre-orders represent “about $14 billion in implied future sales, making this the single biggest one-week launch of any product ever,” the company said.

FINDLAY TOWNSHIP, PA—General Electric has opened a new operation here that will specialize in applying additive manufacturing technology to support the conglomerate’s various business units. The $39-million Center for Additive Technology Advancement will employ 50 engineers.

NEW YORK—U.S. industrial companies rented or purchased 62.9 million square feet of space in the fourth quarter of 2015, up 9.1 percent from the previous quarter and up 0.5 percent from the fourth quarter of a year ago, according to commercial real estate firm Cushman and Wakefield. The vacancy rate of industrial property in the US is now at a 15-year low.

TOULOUSE, France—Airbus has invented a nondestructive, ultrasonic tool for inspecting the composite airframe of the A350 XWB jetliner.

HIGH POINT, NC—New factory orders for furniture rose 2 percent in January compared with the same month last year.

SPRING HILL, TN—To support expansion of its assembly plant here, General Motors has begun accepting applications to populate its temporary hiring pool for future employment.

PALM BAY, FL—Oakridge Global Energy Solutions Inc., a supplier of lithium-ion batteries for military, civilian and medical applications, has opened a $40 million, 70,000-square-foot assembly plant here.

GREENVILLE, OH—After two years in product development, Whirlpool and KitchenAid finally began producing the new KitchenAid Pro Line Blender on March 28. The new product joins a host of other appliances assembled in Greenville, such as the KitchenAid Stand Mixer and hand mixer.