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Nissan to Build New Small Car in Spain

Nissan Motor Co. says it will invest €150 million ($204 million) in its assembly plant in Barcelona, Spain most of it to prepare to start production of a new compact car in July 2014.

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Nissan Motor Co. says it will invest €150 million ($204 million) in its assembly plant in Barcelona, Spain most of it to prepare to start production of a new compact car in July 2014.

The factory will have annual capacity to build 80,000 units of the unidentified model, according to Nissan. It says it will hire 1,000 workers as part of the expansion.

Nissan's new investment includes €20 million ($27 million) to increase the Barcelona facility's output of the Navara pickup truck by 24,000 units. The spending also covers starting production of transmissions for the Leaf electric car and an electric version of the NV200 commercial van.

The Spanish plant will make the electric van alongside the piston-powered model and the Pathfinder SUV. After the expansion, the factory will have annual capacity of 200,000 vehicles.

The unnamed new compact car aims to compete with such rivals as the Volkswagen Golf and Ford Focus. The car will be Nissan's re-entry to Europe's compact car segment after an eight-year absence.

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