Nissan has opened its USD $1.5 billion industrial complex in Resende, Rio de Janeiro, Brazil, marking it one of the largest automotive investments by any manufacturer in the country, according to the automaker. This investment is part of an effort to achieve 5 percent market share and to become the number one Japanese automotive brand in Brazil.

The new Nissan facility already employs about 1,500 people and is expected to grow to around 2,000. The complex includes all facets of automotive production – from the stamping of sheet metal into parts to vehicle assembly and road course testing for the estimated 200,000 vehicles and 200,000 engines the complex will have the capacity to produce each year, according to Nissan.

The Nissan Resende complex will produce Nissan's "Platform V" vehicles and engines starting with Nissan March and the 1.6L 16V flexfuel engine.

All Nissan Resende employees have undergone special training, and more than 300 have trained outside Brazil for three months at Nissan's plants in Japan, Mexico, the United States, and the UK. The vehicle quality control team underwent six months of special training in Japan and Mexico. In the last year, Nissan has invested more than $4 million in technical training for the Resende workers, according to the automaker.