Daimler and Renault-Nissan Alliance break ground for new JV plant in Mexico

Daimler and the Renault-Nissan Alliance today broke ground for their joint-venture manufacturing complex, COMPAS (Cooperation Manufacturing Plant Aguascalientes), in Aguascalientes in central Mexico, which will build next-generation premium compact vehicles for the brands Mercedes-Benz and Infiniti.

Markus Schäfer, Member of the Divisional Board of Mercedes-Benz Cars, Production and Supply Chain Management commented on the occasion, "Today marks an important milestone for the partnership between Daimler and the Renault-Nissan Alliance. This new joint plant will help both partners to serve their respective customers faster and with more flexibility. As Mercedes-Benz' first production location for compact cars in the NAFTA region, it will also significantly enlarge our footprint here."

"On our end, while sharing high efficiency and flexibility in the joint venture, we will add Mercedes-Benz specific technology as well as further training and assistance by our global lead plant for compact cars in Rastatt, Germany. This proven approach will guarantee that our quality here in Aguascalientes will be the same as at the other locations of our global compact car production network in Europe and China," added Schäfer.

Compas will be a 50:50 partnership between Daimler and Nissan. The partners will invest a total of US$ 1 billion in the JV which will oversee the construction and operation of the state-of-the-art manufacturing plant.

Jose Muñoz, Executive Vice President, Nissan Motor Co., Ltd. and Chairman, Management Committee – Nissan North America said, "This new plant represents yet another example of the growing collaboration between the Renault-Nissan Alliance and Daimler. Mexico is a global benchmark for quality and efficiency and is a major reason why Daimler and Nissan have decided to produce the next generations of premium compact cars for Mercedes-Benz and Infiniti here in Aguascalientes. What we are celebrating today has also been made possible through our close collaboration and partnership with both the state and Federal governments."

Located near the Nissan Aguascalientes A2 plant, Compas will have an initial annual production capacity of more than 230,000 vehicles and will create about 3,600 direct jobs by 2020. Production of Infiniti vehicles will begin in 2017, while the first Mercedes-Benz vehicles will roll off the line in 2018. 

Daimler and the Renault-Nissan Alliancewill also produce the next-generation premium compact cars at other production locations around the world, including Europe and China.

Mexico is already a key location for Daimler with the group having production plants for trucks and buses in Saltillo, Santiago Tianguistenco, and Garcia, a parts distribution center in San Luis Potosí and a remanufacturing plant, a product delivery center, and a training center for passenger cars located in Toluca.

Nissan has been producing vehicles in Aguascalientes since 1992. In November 2013, Nissan opened a second manufacturing complex in Aguascalientes, Aguascalientes A2. Nissan also has a plant in Cuernavaca. Together, the three plants have an annual production capacity of 850,000 vehicles. Nissan is the leading automaker in Mexico, accounting for one-fourth of the total cars sold.