The partnership between Nissan and Daimler hit a milestone recently as ground broke on their first ever, joint facility. The assembly plant, located in Decherd, Tennessee, will produced engines for both Infiniti and Mercedes-Benz vehicles – owned by Daimler. When the all-new four cylinder, gasoline powerplant finds its first working way under the hood of the upcoming C-Class sedan, it will be the first major product of the joint venture that was created in 2010.
“Today’s groundbreaking marks the latest move in our collaboration with Daimler to localize production capacity and enhance our competitiveness in the global market,” said Mark Swenson, Vice President of Production Engineering and Component Facilities for Nissan Americas. The facility itself will be built alongside the already working Nissan Powertrain Assembly Complex and will be the first round of Mercedes-Benz engines built-in the North America Free Trade region. Production of the high efficiency four will start in 2014 with annual capacity hitting around 250,000 units. To make sure the engines are pieced together just right, Nissan and Daimler will hire up to 400 new workers who will eventually send of their finished products to the Tuscaloosa, Alabama Mercedes plant. Official word as to which Infiniti model will get the engine has yet to be released.
Source: Nissan
