Nissan-Renault plant in Morocco

Renault and Nissan will produce up to 400,000 vehicles at a low-cost complex in Morocco in the biggest joint manufacturing investment by the carmaking alliance.

The operation, to be built in the new free-trade port near Tangiers, will produce a new generation of light commercial vehicles for Nissan and variants of Renault's low-cost Logan car, mostly for export.

Carlos Ghosn, chief executive of Renault and Nissan, said the facility would be more competitive than Renault's plants in Romania and Turkey and at least as cheap as Nissan's in China. "We're talking about a whole set of cars that are competitive and will be exported from this platform," Mr Ghosn told.

Renault and Nissan will invest €600m in the project, plus another €200m-€400m depending on the vehicles produced. The complex will have the capacity to build 200,000 vehicles from 2010, with planned capacity later rising to 400,000.

MSNBC