Daimler and the Renault-Nissan Alliance have broken 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.

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