Owned 50:50 by the two groups, the COMPAS (Cooperation Manufacturing Plant Aguascalientes) plant will build next-generation premium compact vehicles for Mercedes-Benz and Infiniti following an investment of US$1bn.

“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.

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.

Production of Infiniti vehicles will begin in 2017, while the first Mercedes-Benz vehicles will roll off the line in 2018.

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.