Infiniti to be made in China from 2014

Japan's second-largest automaker Nissan Motor Co will start local production of its luxury brand Infiniti in China from 2014, in a bid to grab a bigger market share from German rivals Mercedes-Benz, Audi and BMW.

According to the agreement Nissan signed on Monday with its Chinese partner Dongfeng Motor Corp, the luxury vehicles will be manufactured in a factory in Xiangyang, Hubei province, under their joint venture Dongfeng Nissan Passenger Vehicle Co.

The first two made-in-China models will hit the market in 2014. The two sides will invest more than 2 billion yuan ($315 million) to almost double the annual production capacity of the Xiangyang plant, which currently produces the company's medium-sized Teana sedans and luxury Murano sport utility vehicles, from 130,000 units to 250,000 units.