DECHERD, Tenn. (AP) — Nissan has broken ground on an engine plant in Decherd, Tenn., that is expected to create up to 400 jobs.
The plant will assemble 4-cylinder engines for Mercedes-Benz and Infiniti models when production begins in 2014.
The engines will be supplied for the Mercedes-Benz C-Class, which is built at a Daimler plant in Tuscaloosa, Ala.
An existing plant in Decherd already makes engines for the Infiniti JX. That plant began powertrain assembly in 1997 and manufactures four-, six- and eight-cylinder engines for all U.S.-produced Nissan and Infiniti vehicles.
Nissan and Daimler first began a partnership in April 2010.
Nissan's USA headquarters are in Franklin, Tenn., just south of Nashville. A manufacturing facility is at Smyrna just southeast of Nashville.
Decherd is about 80 miles southeast of Nashville.