Nissan to invest $600 million in Mexico to build low-cost cars for Americas

July 28, 2010October 29, 2011 Omar Rana Compact Cars, Nissan Micra

Nissan plans on spending $600 million to upgrade its plants in Mexico and will start producing three low-cost cars at the locations for the American markets. The number three Japanese automaker, which is in an alliance with Renault, plans to start making the Micra subcompact there early next year. A sedan will be added to the lineup followed by a multipurpose vehicle in 2013.

A spokeswoman said that the Micra, which is currently available in Japan, will likely be priced at around $10,000 for the United States. The model will compete with the likes of the Ford Fiesta, Toyota Yaris and Honda Fit.

Overall, Nissan expects to produce 300,000 units of the three models in Mexico. It expects to ship 80 percent of that allocation to the Americas.