Daimler & the Renault-Nissan Alliance extend the partnership in Mexico for Premium Compact cars from 2017.

• Aguascalientes plant to build next-generation premium compact vehicles for the brands Mercedes-Benz and Infiniti
• Production of Infiniti vehicles to begin in 2017
• Production of Mercedes-Benz vehicles to begin in 2018

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.

“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,” said Markus Schäfer, Member of the Divisional Board of Mercedes-Benz Cars, Production and Supply Chain Management. 

“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.”

COMPAS is 50:50 owned by Daimler and Nissan. The partners will invest a total of US$1 billion in the joint venture which will oversee the construction and operation of the state-of-the-art manufacturing plant.

“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,” said Jose Muñoz, Executive Vice President, Nissan Motor Co., Ltd. and Chairman, Management Committee – Nissan North America.

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. 

Depending on the market development and customer demand, there will be the potential to add additional capacity. Production of Infiniti vehicles will begin in 2017, while the first Mercedes-Benz vehicles will roll off the line in 2018. 

In addition to the direct employment it provides, COMPAS is also expected to generate some 12,000 indirect jobs – largely due to a high localization rate which will significantly increase the Mexican supply base.

COMPAS is led by an international management team from Daimler and Nissan: Ryoji Kurosawa, Chief Executive Officer (CEO), Uwe Jarosch, Chief Financial Officer (CFO), and Glaucio Leite, Chief Quality Officer (CQO).

Aguascalientes Governor De La Torre said the new plant will be an important source of jobs for the people of Aguascalientes. 

“This first stone reaffirms Aguascalientes’s position as a major manufacturing base for the global auto industry. We will continue to encourage public and private partnerships to strengthen our position as a base for the world’s most important industries.”

More than 400 guests attended the groundbreaking ceremony, including Ildefonso Guajardo, Mexican Minister of Economy; Carlos Lozano de la Torre, Governor of the state of Aguascalientes; Markus Schäfer, Member of the Divisional Board of Mercedes-Benz Cars, Production and Supply Chain Management; Jörg Prigl, Head of Product Group Compact Cars, Mercedes-Benz Cars; Jose Muñoz, Executive Vice President, Nissan Motor Co., Ltd. and Chairman, Management Committee – Nissan North America (NNA); Roland Krueger, President of Infiniti Motor Company, Limited; Ryoji Kurosawa, COMPAS CEO; Uwe Jarosch, COMPAS CFO; Glaucio Leite, COMPAS CQO; and Armando Avila, COMPAS Board of Directors Chairman.

As announced in June 2014, Daimler and the Renault-Nissan Alliance will also cooperate in the development of the next-generation premium compact vehicles for the brands Mercedes-Benz and Infiniti. 

The two partners will closely collaborate at every stage of the product creation process. 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.

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

Growing together in Mexico

Mexico is already a key location for Daimler with a total of around 8,000 employees. The group has 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 and is known for its award-winning, highly efficient workforce. 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 in four cars sold.

Renault-Nissan Alliance and Daimler have significantly extended their cooperation in Central Mexico.

• Manufacturing joint venture called COMPAS (Cooperation Manufacturing Plant Aguascalientes)
• To build plant for the production of next-generation premium compact vehicles for the brands Mercedes-Benz and Infiniti
• COMPAS led by international management team from Daimler and Nissan

Five years after their strategic cooperation was established, Daimler and the Renault-Nissan Alliance have significantly expanded their collaboration with the start of a manufacturing joint venture in Aguascalientes in central Mexico.

The new business entity COMPAS (Cooperation Manufacturing Plant Aguascalientes) is 50:50 owned by Daimler and Nissan. The partners will invest a total of US$1 billion in COMPAS which will oversee the construction and operation of a manufacturing plant for the production of next-generation premium compact vehicles for the brands Mercedes-Benz and Infiniti.

The state-of-the-art plant will be located near the Nissan Aguascalientes A2 plant. It will have an initial annual production capacity of more than 230,000 vehicles and will create about 3,600 direct jobs by 2020. Depending on the market development and customer demand, there will be the potential to add additional capacity. Production of Infiniti vehicles will begin in 2017, first Mercedes-Benz vehicles will roll off the line in 2018.

COMPAS is led by an international management team from Daimler and Nissan: Ryoji Kurosawa is Chief Executive Officer (CEO); Uwe Jarosch is Chief Financial Officer (CFO) and Glaucio Leite is Chief Quality Officer (CQO).

The decision-making process of COMPAS is supported by a Board of Directors made up of three executives from each company. The board members from Daimler are: Michael Göbel, Head of Production Compact Cars, Mercedes-Benz Cars; Axel Harries, Head of Quality Management, Mercedes-Benz Cars; and Christian Schulz, Head of Controlling, Mercedes-Benz Cars Operations.The Nissan executives are: Armando Avila, Manufacturing VP, Nissan Mexico; Carlos Servin, Finance VP, Nissan North America; and Takehiro Terai, Total Customer Satisfaction VP, Nissan North America.

"COMPAS is an outstanding example of the global reach of the Renault-Nissan Alliance and Daimler cooperation. Together we are combining the manufacturing expertise of Nissan and Daimler in one production plant in Mexico for the production of next-generation premium compact cars," said  COMPAS CEO Kurosawa. "Aguascalientes was selected as the location for this new plant thanks to the state's well-established supplier base and Nissan's track record in highly efficient manufacturing in Mexico for more than three decades," he added.

Kurosawa has more than 30 years' manufacturing experience at both Nissan and Infiniti. In his last position as General Manager of the Tochigi Plant in Japan, he was in charge of the production and quality of Infiniti, including the Infiniti Q50 flagship sedan.

"With COMPAS, Mercedes-Benz Cars will for the first time have a production location for compact cars in the NAFTA region and will thus be able to serve its customers close to the market in a flexible and efficient manner," said COMPAS CFO Jarosch.

During more than 40 years at Daimler, Jarosch has completed various and largely international assignments in finance and controlling. In his last position as CFO of the Mercedes-Benz passenger cars business in India, he had a responsible role in the significant expansion of the local production and the sales network in the country.

"By incorporating the best from both companies in terms of manufacturing and quality processes, we will produce top-quality products, maximize resources, and optimize costs at the same time. We are also making sure that both brands' quality requirements and identities are safeguarded," added COMPAS CQO Leite.

During 24 years at Daimler, Leite has taken over various functions in production and planning at Mercedes-Benz commercial vehicles as well as passenger cars in Brazil and Germany. In his last position, after several project assignments at the passenger car plants in the USA and China, he oversaw preparations for the final assembly of the next-generation E-Class at the Mercedes-Benz Sindelfingen plant in Germany.

As announced in June 2014, Daimler and Infiniti will also cooperate in the development of the next-generation premium compact vehicles for the brands Mercedes-Benz and Infiniti. The two partners will closely collaborate at every stage of the product creation process. 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.

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

Car Pictures used for illustrative purposes only - full model ranges to be announced soon.

Renault-Nissan and Daimler Benz combine further to bring down corporate costs and bring in new joint ventures

• Teams will work closely on development of next-generation compact vehicles for both Mercedes-Benz and Infiniti
• New plant in Aguascalientes, Mexico, will add nearly 5,700 additional workers and annual capacity of 300,000 vehicles when fully ramped up
• Companies will equally divide investment costs of approximately €1 billion

The Renault-Nissan Alliance and Daimler AG are significantly expanding their cooperation with joint development of premium compact vehicles and joint production in Mexico.

Renault-Nissan CEO Carlos Ghosn and Daimler CEO Dieter Zetsche announced today that their companies have agreed to establish a 50:50 joint venture, the business entity that will oversee construction and operation of the new plant in Aguascalientes in north-central Mexico. The new plant will be built in the immediate vicinity of an already existing Nissan plant and will have an annual capacity of 300,000 vehicles when fully ramped up.

Start of production is planned for 2017 with Infiniti models. The production of Mercedes-Benz brand vehicles will follow in 2018.

Daimler and Nissan will share the total investment cost for Aguascalientes of approximately €1 billion. The companies will add almost 5,700 jobs (including engineering, line workers and support staff) by the time the plant reaches full capacity, expected in 2021. In addition, a high localization rate will significantly increase the Mexican supply base.

Carlos Ghosn, Chairman and CEO of the Renault-Nissan Alliance: “Joint development of compact premium vehicles and joint production in Aguascalientes together represent one of the largest projects between the Renault-Nissan Alliance and Daimler. It also shows how our collaboration, which began in Europe, has become global in scope.”

Dieter Zetsche, Chairman of the Board of Management of Daimler AG and Head of Mercedes-Benz Cars: “In Aguascalientes, we will take our successful partnership to the next level by combining the skills of our two companies Daimler and Nissan in one production plant. Just over four years after the cooperation was founded, the decision for the new plant in Mexico is a major milestone.”

Close collaboration between Infiniti and Mercedes-Benz at every stage of development, from advanced research and design to production, will ensure that vehicles within the scope of the project will clearly differ from each other in terms of product design and specifications.

Growing together in Mexico

In Aguascalientes both partners will enjoy access to Nissan’s award-winning, highly efficient workforce. Nissan has been producing vehicles in Aguascalientes since 1992, and the plant has expanded significantly just in the past year.

In November, Nissan opened the first stage of a US$2 billion manufacturing complex in Aguascalientes. This increased Nissan’s total capacity in Mexico to more than 850,000 vehicles annually.

Mexico is already an important market for Daimler. The company has production plants for trucks and buses in Saltillo, Santiago Tianguistenco and Garcia, a parts distribution center in San Luis Potosí and a remanufacturing plant in Toluca. For passenger cars Daimler has a pre-delivery-inspection and a training center.

Four years of increasing collaboration

The French-Japanese-German industrial cooperation of Daimler and the Renault-Nissan Alliance began in April 2010, with three “pillar projects” primarily focused on Europe. Since then, the portfolio has increased to twelve significant projects, including major initiatives from the Americas to Japan.

Just yesterday, Infiniti and Daimler launched production of four-cylinder gasoline engines in Decherd, Tennessee, USA. With an annual production capacity of 250,000 units, the Decherd facility produces engines for use in the Mercedes-Benz C-Class and in the Infiniti Q50.

Later this year, the Alliance and Daimler will start selling the next-generation smart and Twingo city cars, developed on a shared platform, the Twingo and the four-seater smart being produced at the Renault plant in Novo Mesto, Slovenia, the two-seater smart in Hambach, France.