Production of US badge cars in Mexico is expected to reach 25 percent by 2020. Apparently European manufacturers are finding it attractive, too. Will Mexican industrial cities become a magnet for Central American immigrants with the new job growth---or will they continue to target the US?

http://www.greencarcongress.com/2015...03-compas.html


Daimler and Renault-Nissan Alliance break ground for new joint venture plant in Mexico

3 September 2015

Daimler and the Renault-Nissan Alliance broke 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.
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.
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. Depending on the market development and customer demand, there will be the potential to add additional capacity. Production of Infiniti vehicles will begin in 2017, while the first Mercedes-Benz vehicles will roll off the line in 2018. In addition to the direct employment it provides, COMPAS is also expected to generate some 12,000 indirect jobs—largely due to a high localization rate which will significantly increase the Mexican supply base.
COMPAS is led by an international management team from Daimler and Nissan: Ryoji Kurosawa, Chief Executive Officer (CEO), Uwe Jarosch, Chief Financial Officer (CFO), and Glaucio Leite, Chief Quality Officer (CQO).
As announced in June 2014, Daimler and the Renault-Nissan Alliance will also cooperate in the development of the next-generation premium compact vehicles for the brands Mercedes-Benz and Infiniti. The two partners will closely collaborate at every stage of the product creation process. Brand identity will be safeguarded as the Mercedes-Benz and Infiniti vehicles will clearly differ from each other in terms of product design, driving characteristics, and specifications.
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.