Nissan to invest $2bln to build new manufacturing complex in Mexico

PanARMENIAN.Net - Japanese automaker Nissan said on Wednesday, Jan 25, it would invest up to $2 billion (1.5 billion euros) to build a new manufacturing complex in Mexico to boost the company's production for the Americas.

The complex, the company's third factory in Mexico, will be built in Aguascalientes and is scheduled to begin operations in late 2013, Nissan said in a statement issued in Paris.

It will initially support the production of up to 175,000 units annually and further expansion of the site will be considered, Nissan said.

It said up to 3,000 direct and 9,000 indirect jobs will be created with the establishment of the new facility.

"Mexico is a key engine for Nissan's growth in the Americas," said Carlos Ghosn, the chairman of Nissan, which is in an alliance with French automaker Renault.

"Together with our new plant in Brazil, this new manufacturing facility in Aguascalientes is an important pillar in our strategy to ensure that Nissan has the capacity it needs to increase sales volume and market share across the Americas," Ghosn said.

Nissan said the new plant would allow it to eventually produce more than one million units annually in Mexico in the mid-term. Last year the company produced a record 600,000 vehicles in its Mexican plants.

The company said its sales in the Americas rose 17.2 percent last year to more than 1.5 million units, moving Nissan into the No. 2 ranking among Asian brands in the region. Nissan has an overall market share of 7.5 percent in the Americas, it said.

In the United States it has a market share of 8.2 percent and has been gaining for the last six consecutive years. The company is also the market leader in Mexico, with a 24.8 percent share in 2011, AFP reported.