Nissan Motor’s luxury unit Infiniti said its Decherd powertrain plant, a partnership between the Renault-Nissan Alliance and Daimler, would start production on 26 June.
The first engine assembled at the new facility will be a two-litre, turbocharged, petrol I4. The engines initially will be used in European versions of the Q50 sports sedan and the Mercedes-Benz C-Class assembled in Tuscaloosa, Alabama.
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Around 200 new jobs have been added to date, with that number expected to increase to 400 once the plant ramps up to its full 250,000 engine annual capacity.
“The opening of this new powertrain facility is an important step for Infiniti. It is the first step of our manufacturing expansion that will include the start of vehicle production in China later this year and in Europe next year,” the automaker said.
Construction of the US$319m, 310,000 sq ft facility began in May 2012. It incorporates a number of energy efficient design features, such as a heat reflecting white roof and natural daytime lighting through use of a skylight grid.
“In this new facility we are building on 17 years of powertrain experience here in Decherd – taking the best quality standards from Japan and Germany and combining those with our highly skilled US workforce,” Infiniti said in a statement.
