AGUASCALIENTES, Mexico—Five years after announcing their strategic collaboration, Daimler and the Renault-Nissan Alliance are expanding its scope with the start of a manufacturing joint venture here. The automakers will invest $1 billion in the assembly plant, which produce compact cars for the Mercedes-Benz and Infiniti brands.

TANGIER, Morocco—The Renault-Nissan Alliance is hoping to beat the crowds in the nascent African automotive market by building the largest assembly plant on the continent. The Renault-Nissan Alliance is spending $1.23 billion to build a new factory here that will be able to produce 400,000 vehicles a year and will employ 6,000 people by 2015.