Global auto companies have entered the competition stage, and the cooperation between Renault-Nissan Alliance and Daimler continues to deepen. On June 27, Renault-Nissan Alliance CEO Carlos Ghosn and Daimler CEO Zechu announced a joint venture to establish and operate a new plant in Aguascalientes, Mexico’s central and northern part of the country. Each will hold 50% of the shares. The new plant will be close to the Nissan plant that has already been built, and will have an annual production capacity of 300,000 units after full production. The Infiniti model is scheduled to start production in 2017. The Mercedes-Benz brand models will follow closely and will be put into production in 2018.
On the previous day, on June 26th, Infiniti announced that the US-based Dekker engine plant jointly established by the Renault-Nissan Alliance and Daimler AG had been put into production. The 2.0-liter turbocharged four-cylinder gasoline engine that was first assembled in the new plant will be used in the European version of the Infiniti Q50 and the Mercedes-Benz C-Class sedan. The new plant capacity is expected to reach an annual output of 250,000 engines. The plant will use Infiniti and Daimler's technology, expertise and the highest level of production standards, and the two companies will benefit from the synergies and economies of scale of cooperation.
The cooperation between Daimler and the Renault-Nissan alliance began in April 2010. In the second half of this year, Renault-Nissan Alliance and Daimler will begin selling the next-generation smart models and the Twingo City sedan developed on a shared platform. This includes the Twingo and four smart models produced at the Renault plant in the new Mesto, Slovenia, and the two-seater smart models produced in Hambach, France.