Italian car maker, Fiat SpA, is investing 1.8 billion US dollars into a new factory in the north-east of Brazil.
The manufacturer - which holds a larger share of the Brazilian car market than any other European brand - has completed a deal to begin work next year on a new plant in the city of Pernambuco.
The factory's capacity will allow it to build 200,000 cars annually by 2014, and will also be Fiat's research and development headquarters on the continent.
The plant will also create a surge in demand for steel and the eucalyptus charcoal that is increasing being used to power such plants.
