Japan-based Nissan announced on Wednesday that it was investing $2 billion in a new auto plant in Aguascalientes . . . the plant would begin operations in late 2013 and produce compact and subcompact vehicles for sale in the Americas . . . it will be Nissan’s third plant in Mexico and will boost production to one million cars per year . . . Nissan is Japan’s second-largest automaker and also operates plants in Tennessee, Mississippi, and Brazil, where it plans to build another factory in the state of Rio de Janeiro that would begin production in the first half of 2014 . . . Nissan is also Mexico’s best-selling automobile manufacturer as it dominates a quarter of the market . . . Nissan became the second-largest importer of cars into Japan last year . . . Mexican auto plants produced 2.5 million cars in 2011, according to Mexican President Felipe Calderon . . . last year Honda Motor Co. and Mazda Motor Corp. announced plans to build new auto plants in Mexico . . . the yen rose 5.5 percent against the U.S. dollar while the peso depreciated by 11 percent against the U.S. dollar in 2011 . . . Nissan is looking to Mexico because of the strong yen, which makes manufacturing in Japan too expensive . . . Mexico is becoming a competitively priced alternative to manufacturing in South Asian countries . . . Nissan could face trouble with its decision to build another plant in Aguascalientes, which has become another foothold for the Zetas, the most powerful Mexican gang.