WRIGHTBUS is to partner automotive giant Daimler to produce buses in India.
It is understood the Ballymena-headquartered firm will join with Daimler Buses at a production centre in Cheinnai in the north of the country.
Confirmation of the partnership comes after The Irish News revealed in July Wright-bus had plans to set up in the subcontinent.
The firm plans to produce vehicles specifically for the Indian domestic market.
It has said there are no plans to displace jobs from Ballymena adding the move could actually lead to more jobs in Northern Ireland.
Earlier this year, Daimler brought its bus operations in India under the Daimler India Commercial Vehicles (DCIV) umbrella, based in Chennai - known as the Detroit of India.
Speaking in Germany, Daimler's head of buses Harmut Schick confirmed plans to link up with Wrightbus - one of the north's best performing exporters.
"To strengthen our position in the important Indian bus market we have gained the ideal partner, the British body manufacturer Wrightbus," he said.
Managing director of the Wright Group Mark Nodder said the company was "excited by the opportunity to work with DICV in this dynamic market, which offers great prospects for the future".
"This project will leverage the strengths of both companies, and creates long-term opportunities for growth."
In July, he revealed the India centre was part of an initiative to drive down costs in an increasingly competitive market.
He said it would produce buses for the Indian market using mostly Indian parts and labour.
The company already sends parts to Singapore and Hong Kong where they have small teams working with local labour to build buses close to their customers.
In its latest results, Wright-bus posted £3.85m profits on a turnover of £157m - up from £133m in 2011.
The firm has won several high-value orders in recent years including a contract to supply 600 new London buses over the next three years - each of which cost £325,000 to produce.
Last month, it linked up with Dutch firm VDL to build new integral midibus for the Europe domestic market.
Wrightbus, which has worked with VDL for more than a decade, will build the integral Citea MLE midibus in Northern Ireland.