One day after production of engines for Mercedes-Benz and Infiniti models started in a new joint venture factory at Nissan’s Dechard, Tennesee site, the Renault-Nissan Alliance and Daimler announced joint development of premium compact vehicles and joint production in a 300,000-unit plant in Mexico.
Renault-Nissan CEO Carlos Ghosn and Daimler CEO Dieter Zetsche said their companies had agreed to establish a 50:50 joint venture, the business entity that will oversee construction and operation of the new plant in Aguascalientes in north-central Mexico. The new plant will be built close to an existing Nissan plant and will eventually have an annual capacity of 300,000.
Start of production is planned for 2017 with Infiniti models with Mercedes-Benz brand vehicles following in 2018.
The automakers provided no more details but just-auto considers the most likely models are the Infiniti QX30 in 2017 and Mercedes GLB in 2018 with other MFA 2 architecture-based models to follow. The next generation M-B GLA is also a possibility but some years off as the first generation’s only recently been launched.
In a statement, the automakers said: “Close collaboration between Infiniti and Mercedes-Benz at every stage of development, from research and design to production, will ensure that vehicles within the scope of the project will clearly differ from each other in terms of product design and specifications.”
Daimler and Nissan will share the cost of Aguascalientes of approximately EUR1bn. The companies will add almost 5,700 jobs (including engineering, line workers and support staff) by the time the plant reaches full capacity, expected in 2021. In addition, a high localisation rate will significantly increase the Mexican supply base.
Nissan’s Mexican operations recently said it planned to triple purchases from domestic manufacturers to US$7bn by 2016. Nissan Mexicana has also recently opened the Douki Seisan Park for its suppliers in Aguascalientes and this conceivably could be used to service the new joint venture plant.
The US$57m park is on 682,000 sq yards of land and is being built next to the automaker’s light vehicle assembly plant.
Carlos Ghosn, chairman and CEO of the Renault-Nissan Alliance, said: “Joint development of compact premium vehicles and joint production in Aguascalientes together represent one of the largest projects between the Renault-Nissan Alliance and Daimler. It also shows how our collaboration, which began in Europe, has become global in scope.”
Daimler and Mercedes-Benz brand chief Dieter Zetsche added: “In Aguascalientes, we will take our successful partnership to the next level by combining the skills of our two companies… in one production plant. Just over four years after the cooperation was founded, the decision for the new plant in Mexico is a major milestone.”
Nissan has been producing vehicles in Aguascalientes since 1992, and the plant has been expanded in the past year.
Last November, Nissan opened the first stage of a new US$2bn full manufacturing complex in Aguascalientes. This increased its total capacity in Mexico to over 850,000 vehicles annually.
Daimler has truck and bus plants in Saltillo, Santiago Tianguistenco and Garcia, a parts distribution center in San Luis Potosí and a remanufacturing plant in Toluca. Daimler also has a passenger car pre-delivery inspection and training centre in Mexico.
Daimler and Alliance cooperation began in April 2010 with three ‘pillar projects’ primarily focused on Europe. Twelve major projects are now either in production or under development in the Americas and Japan.
Later this year, the Alliance and Daimler will start selling the next generation Smart and Renault Twingo city cars, developed on a shared (rear engine) platform. The Twingo and the [resurrected] four-seat Smart will be produced at the Renault plant in Novo Mesto, Slovenia while two-seat production will again be in Hambach, France.
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