Nissan opens $2 billion Sentra plant in Mexico

Nissan Sentras will soon be making their way from south of the border with the opening of the company's new $2 billion auto assembly plant in Aguascalientes, Mexico.

Although the first vehicle actually rolled off the assembly line last Thursday, the plant was declared officially open in a special ceremony today by but Nissan CEO Carlos Ghosn and Mexico President Peña Nieto.
If everything goes according to plan, the plant expects to produce 175,000 Sentras by the end of next March, with a ultimate goal of making 1 million cars in Mexico by 2016, which is expected to be Nissan's export hub for both North and South America.

"We like Mexico because it allows us to be competitive," Ghosn said in an interview at the plant. "It's not only about cost, it's also about quality and it's about responsiveness - capacity to respond to variation of the market very quickly."

He also acknowledged the fact that "up until now, Nissan lacked enough factory space and manpower to take full advantage of the US's 5-year-old shift to fuel-efficient B- and C-segment small cars."

"We even had to hold back on advertising our newly designed Sentra, simply because American. dealers have not been able to stock enough of them," added Jose Munoz, Nissan's newly promoted head of North American operations, effective Jan. 1, as he traveled to the plant opening. "This is going to change things for us.We will now be able to give the Honda Civic and Toyota Corolla more of a run for their money."

Source: examiner.com