The partners plan to invest $1 billion to build the plant, which will eventually produce luxury vehicles for the Infiniti and Mercedes-Benz brands. It is located adjacent to an existing Nissan factory.
The companies have been working to co-develop a compact car platform. Previous reports suggest it will borrow heavily from parts and architecture developed for Mercedes-Benz’ latest A-, B-, GLA- and CLA-Class models. In return, the German automaker looks to increase its North American manufacturing capacity.
“The two partners will closely collaborate at every stage of the product creation process,” the automakers noted in the joint announcement. “Brand identity will be safeguarded as the Mercedes-Benz and Infiniti vehicles will clearly differ from each other in terms of product design, driving characteristics, and specifications.”
The factory will have an initial capacity of more than 230,000 units annually, with the ability to ramp up to 300,000 if needed. Approximately 3,600 jobs are expected to be created by 2020.
The Infiniti-badged car will be the first to roll off the fresh assembly line sometime in 2017, while Mercedes-Benz’ variant will follow in 2018.
Leave a Reply