Argentina – A new production line representing an investment of $600m will bring the total Renault-Nissan Alliance funds spent in the country to $800m by 2018. The line will launch in 2018 with the Nissan NP300 Frontier, marking the first time that Nissan builds vehicles in Argentina.
“As the third-largest automotive market and the centre of pick-up manufacturing in Latin America, Argentina is key to the regional growth plans of our brands,” commented Carlos Ghosn, chairman and CEO of Renault-Nissan.
The plans were first announced in April 2015 but this month an agreement was signed with the province of Córdoba. The $600m production line will have an annual capacity of 70,000 units and require 1,000 workers, creating a further 2,000 indirect jobs. The Nissan NP300 Frontier will be followed by the Renault Alaskan and a Daimler model by the end of the decade.
In addition, Renault Argentina pledged $100m to make a new model at the Santa Isabel plant in Córdoba. In March 2015, another $100m was allocated to the production of the Renault Sandero, Sandero Stepway and Logan at Santa Isabel. These investments will increase utilisation and are expected to strengthen the company’s market share, with the target of reaching second place this year and first place in the medium term. Argentina will also play a significant role in Nissan’s objective to reach the top three rankings in Latin America.