Nissan begins works on new Infiniti

Some two years after the Renault-Nissan Alliance and Daimler joined forces, the Japanese carmaker’s top brass broke ground on a new manufacturing plant in Decherd, Tennessee, that will build Mercedes-Benz four-cylinder gasoline engines for both Infiniti and Mercedes-Benz models. “Today, we begin an exciting new chapter for the Renault-Nissan Alliance and our continued investment in the United States,” said Nissan Vice President of Production Engineering and Component Facilities, Mark Swenson. “Today’s groundbreaking marks the latest move in our collaboration with Daimler to localize production capacity and enhance our competitiveness in the global market.” The Tennessee facility will be ready for production of the Mercedes-Benz four-cylinder engines in 2014, with Nissan officials estimating that the factory will have an initial annual output of 250,000 units. Mercedes-Benz will also lend its new MFA platform architecture that underpins the latest A-Class to Infiniti for an upcoming compact model, which will be produced in Austria by Magna Steyr.