Nissan Plans New Plant in Mexico to Expand Presence in Emerging Markets

Nissan Motor Co. is planning to build a new plant in Mexico as part of efforts to increase its presence in emerging markets, following its production upgrades in China, India and Russia, company sources said Thursday.

Nissan is making final adjustments to locate the new plant near its existing plant in central Mexico, which annually makes about 600,000 units. The new plant will produce compact cars designed for emerging countries and is also expected to become an export base for the United States, the sources said.

The Japanese automaker is also considering allocating some of the plant's production capacity to its strategic partner Daimler AG to reduce the investment risk, they said.

Honda Motor Co. and Mazda Motor Corp. are also planning to build new plants in Mexico, because auto parts imports into and finished car exports from the country are duty free under free trade agreements it has concluded with many other countries.