Renault-Nissan Alliance and Daimler Expand Cooperation with New Plant in Mexico

• 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

MEXICO CITY, June 27, 2014 /CNW/ - The Renault-Nissan Alliance and Daimler AG are significantly expanding their cooperation with joint development of premium compact vehicles and joint production in Mexico. (Video available here: http://www.media.blog.alliance-renault-nissan.com/news/5002)

(Logo: http://photos.prnewswire.com/prnh/20140130/666713-a )

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.

To read the full press release, go to: http://www.media.blog.alliance-renault-nissan.com/news/5002

SOURCE: Renault-Nissan Alliance

Thomas Fröhlich, [phone] (Daimler AG); Mia Nielsen, [phone] (Renault-Nissan Alliance)