US Nissan Plant To Supply Engine For Euro-Special Infiniti Q50
In its fight against the big premium brands in Europe, Infiniti is calling upon some German-designed American firepower for its Japanese-made, Euro-market special Q50 sedan.
Automotive News reports the Q50 will receive a 2-liter turbo-four from an $319 million Infinti-only line inside Nissan’s engine plant in Decherd, Tenn.; total overall production is expected to reach 250,000 annually while employing 400. The same engine will be used by Mercedes in its next-generation C-Class launching this year from the German automaker’s factory in Vance, Ala.
The plan, set to begin in late June, is part of a product-sharing agreement between parent companies Renault-Nissan and Daimler, as well as a checkbox for Infiniti’s to-do global portfolio expansion list.
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Is this infinity-exclusive mill another SR20 variant, or something new and tasty?
The post here should probably explicitly say that the turbo 2.0t engine is a Merecedes engine, and that Infiniti contracted to make it for them. This deal was announced almost exactly 4 years ago, the ground-breaking at Smyrna, TN was announced two years ago, etc. etc. This announcement is to tell everyone they're starting production in a couple of weeks. They're also supposed to be making a 4 cylinder diesel for thenselves and Mercedes as well.
Does anybody remember when a guy bought a Cadillac and found there was a Chevrolet engine in it? He raised a fuss and GM began stating that engines were supplied from various GM divisions to cover their butts. Could this be the beginning of another kerfuffel, with people buying a Japanese car and getting an engine from another maker? That might be especially important to people who buy Japanese for durability and get an engine designed by Germans whose engines have a reputation for expensive repair and maintenance.
There is far more to come from the link-up, with Nissan and Daimler scheduled to co-develop and manufacture premium compact vehicles. At a jointly owned facility at Aguascalientes, Mexico, close to an existing Nissan plant, production of Infiniti models starts in 2017, with Mercedes models following a year later. Total annual production capacity of the plant will be 300,000 units. Further premium compact vehicles will also be produced at other Daimler and Nissan plants; the companies are now sharing a dozen projects in Europe, Asia and North America. The companies have close powertrain links. As well as the three-cylinder engines for the two smart models and its own Twingo, Renault is supplying 1.5-L and 1.6-L four-cylinder diesel engines for several Mercedes-Benz model lines (including A, B, CLA and C-Class), while a 2.0-L turbocharged gasoline unit is jointly produced at a Nissan and Daimler facility in Decherd, Tennessee, for both the C-Class and the Infiniti Q50. http://articles.sae.org/13970/