Renault-Nissan just broke ground on a new engine manufacturing facility at their Decherd, Tennesee plant. Under a partnership with Daimler, the four-cylinder motors will power U.S.-built Mercedes-Benz C-Class vehicles in addition to Infiniti models. Beginning in 2014, the C-Class will be built at Daimler’s plant in Tuscaloosa, Alabama.
Decherd now builds 4-, 6- and 8-cylinder engines for Nissan and Infiniti vehicles. Last year, the 1.2-million square foot facility turned out 580,000 motors.
With a growing number of plants in Georgia, Alabama, Tennessee and South Carolina, the southeastern U.S. is an increasingly important region for automotive manufacturing. The latest partnership between global players Nissan and Mercedes-Benz certainly highlights that growth. The new motor plant could create 400 jobs. Perhaps more importantly, the partnership strengthens the South’s position in the industry, not just locally but globally, too.
That red clay in Nissan’s press video makes this Southerner smile.
