Over the years Nissan’s performance and motorsport partner Nismo has been working away on numerous projects, including launching its own mildly-tuned models like the 370Z Nismo and more recent Juke Nismo, as well as its own range of performance parts.

Despite the credibility of the Nismo name in performance circles, Nissan has never fully exploited the potential of the tuning firm for its own models.

That looks set to change as Nissan has confirmed it’s about to make a major announcement concerning Nismo and its future with the automaker.

Nissan CEO Carlos Ghosn will announce the new plans for Nismo at a press conference in Japan on Tuesday, February 26.

In a statement, Nissan has said its upcoming announcement will reveal the “new direction for Nismo’s core mission” and that it will also mark the opening of a new factory for Nismo near the automaker's own headquarters in Yokohama, Japan.

The new site replaces Nismo’s prior location in Omori, Japan, and includes a larger showroom for up to eight vehicles plus a retail outlet.

It is expected that Nissan will finally make Nismo an official performance division, similar to what AMG is to Mercedes-Benz and the M Division to BMW. When it comes to mainstream automakers, there are few official performance divisions, although Volkswagen and Chrysler have experienced much success with their respective R and SRT divisions.

The upcoming announcement is also expected to include details about an expanded motorsport program for Nissan together with Nismo.

Stay tuned for an update.