Japanese carmaker Nissan said on Wednesday it plans to invest up to US$2.0 billion (€1.5 billion) for an all-new manufacturing plant in Aguascalientes, Mexico, that will be operational by late 2013.
The new facility, which will complement Nissan’s two existing Mexican factories, will have an annual production capacity of up to 175,000 units of the company’s ‘B’ platform models. Last year, Nissan set a domestic production record with more than 600,000 vehicles built at its two Mexican plants.
“Mexico is a key engine for Nissan’s growth in the Americas,” said Carlos Ghosn, chairman and CEO of Nissan Motor. “Together with our new plant in Brazil, this new manufacturing facility in Aguascalientes is an important pillar in our strategy to ensure that Nissan has the capacity it needs to increase sales volume and market share across the Americas.”
The Japanese carmaker said that the third plant would add up to 3,000 direct jobs, with approximately 9,000 positions to be created within the supply chain and wider community. With these additional jobs, Nissan’s total headcount in Mexico will expand to nearly 13,500 workers.
Along with the production facilities, Nissan said it will also construct an on-site test track to allow for off-line quality assurance testing of all new-model production.
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