(June 12, 2014) NASHVILLE, Tenn. – Infiniti has announced that June 26 will be the official start of production for the new Infiniti Decherd Powertrain Plant in Decherd, Tenn., a partnership between the Renault-Nissan Alliance and Daimler AG.

The first engine assembled at the all-new facility will be a 2.0-liter turbocharged gasoline 4-cylinder. The engines will initially be used in European versions of the Infiniti Q50 sports sedan and the Mercedes-Benz C-Class assembled in Tuscaloosa, Alabama.

Around 200 new jobs have been added to date, with that number expected to increase to 400 once the plant ramps up to its full 250,000 engine annual capacity.

"The opening of this new powertrain facility is an important step for Infiniti. It is the first step of our manufacturing expansion that will include the start of vehicle production in China later this year and in Europe next year," said de Nysschen.

Construction of the ground-up $319 million, 310,000-square foot facility began in May 2012. It incorporates a number of energy efficient design features, such as a heat-reflecting white roof and natural daytime lighting through use of a skylight grid.

"In this new state-of-the-art facility we are building on 17 years of powertrain experience here in Decherd — taking the best quality standards from Japan and Germany and combining those with our highly skilled U.S. workforce," added Edwards. "Our team can't wait to get started."