OREANDA-NEWS. April 09, 2015. Nissan Motor Corporation bets strongly on Argentina; announces that it will rev up operations to become an Original Equipment Manufacturer (OEM) with the domestic production of an all-new pick-up.

Argentina now becomes a key component of Nissan?s ambitious regional strategy to gradually position itself among the Top 3 brands in Latin America. With a presence spanning 38 countries, Nissan stated its commitment to becoming a core member of the Argentinean automotive industry, a market expected to reach one million in sales in the mid-term.

"It is an honor for Nissan to bet on Argentina. We are stronger than ever and ready to contribute to the country?s development. The company is placing our trust in Argentina?s economic potential and looks forward to helping build a bright future as a key member of the domestic automotive industry," said Jose Luis Valls, Chairman of Nissan Latin America and senior vice president of Nissan Motor Corporation.

At the core of this strategy is the domestic production of high-quality vehicles, which places in the hands of local talent the execution of its vision: INNOVATION THAT EXCITES, or Innovaci?n que Emociona.

The global Renault-Nissan Alliance will serve as a tool to kick-off Nissan?s manufacturing operations in the country. Renault-Nissan is the longest-lasting and most successful automotive alliance, boasting a business model that drives joint success with behind-the-scene collaboration and resource-sharing - all while operating and competing independently in the market.

With an investment of US\\$600 million, the company will build pick-up trucks in Renault?s industrial complex in C?rdoba, on a dedicated pick-up assembly line. Along with Nissan?s new truck, the new line also will produce a 1-ton pick-up truck for Renault and a new pick-up for Mercedes, stemming from a Daimler-Renault-Nissan Alliance cooperation agreement. The pick-ups will share some common architecture but will have markedly different brand design and attributes, distinctive of each brand.

The new assembly line will be capable of producing 70,000 pick-ups per year. This production line alone, will generate approximately 1000 direct jobs, and another 2000 indirect. The first vehicle to be assembled will be the all-new NP300 Frontier by 2018. With this step, Argentina joins a network of global production sites for the NP300 Frontier that includes plants in Thailand, Mexico and soon Spain.

The Argentinean public will first see live the all-new NP300 Frontier during the Buenos Aires Auto Show of June 2015. The NP300 Frontier will be launched and sold in Argentina toward the end of 2015, initially imported from M?xico. Production is expected to begin in Argentina by 2018, once local resources are ready.

Nissan sells more than 300,000 trucks each year and is a leader in the 1-ton truck segment, with more than 14 million units sold worldwide.
Nissan NP300 Frontier is the 12th generation pick-up for Nissan and the 8th generation pick-up to be launched in Latin America. The new vehicle will build upon a long heritage of excellence that spans almost 90 years and will boast TOUGH and SMART attributes enabled by new technologies.