Infiniti and Mercedes-Benz have announced that they are going in half-and-half on a new manufacturing plant adjacent to an existing Nissan plant in Aguascalientes, Mexico. The two companies will build compact luxury cars based on a shared platform at the new facility, which is expected to require a combined $1.4 billion to construct. An estimated 300,000 cars will leave the plant annually, while about 5700 workers will draw their livelihoods from it once production hits full steam in 2021.
The specific models to be built there have yet to be formally announced, but they are widely expected to be some variant of the Mercedes A- and/or B-class and a new front-wheel-drive Infiniti using those cars' platform. The Infiniti will be first off the line in 2017, and the Benz will follow in 2018, according to a joint statement by the two companies.
"The Infiniti and Mercedes vehicle will share production and manufacturing but the cars will retain their own independent designs and unique look and feel," the companies' announcement says, adding: "The goal is to increase economies of scale while also maximizing the brand distinctions of the two iconic marques."
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The new plant represents the latest joint venture between Nissan/Renault and Daimler, which started a partnership in 2010 with three "pillar projects" primarily focused on Europe. Subsequently, this expanded to twelve projects that involve products to be sold in the Americas and Japan. Earlier this year, the two companies expanded their tech and platform-sharing endeavor to include the new compact models. Just last week, the two also began building four-cylinder engines together in Tennessee, while later this year, the jointly-developed next-generation Smart Fortwo and Renault Twingo go on sale in Europe.
from Car and Driver Blog http://ift.tt/nSHy27
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