Nissan, Mercedes Plan $1.4 Billion Venture in Mexico

The Renault-Nissan alliance and Daimler AG are expanding their four-year-old product development partnership with a 50:50 venture in Mexico that will begin building small luxury cars for both companies three years from now.

The $1.4 billion project centers on a new assembly plant to be erected next to Nissan's factory in Aguascalientes. The facility is expected to reach full capacity of 300,000 vehicles per year by 2021. The partners say the factory eventually will employ 5,700 workers, including engineering and support staff.

Nissan and Daimler say the plant's first model will be a small car for Nissan's Infiniti brand in 2017. The facility will add a similarly sized car for Daimler's Mercedes-Benz brand in 2018. The two models were co-developed by the partners and will share the same platform.

Daimler makes trucks and buses at three locations in Mexico. The joint venture plant in Aguascalientes will be its first car plant in the country.