The strategic partnership between the Renault-Nissan Alliance and Daimler AG is maturing as it enters its seventh year in 2016, the companies’ leaders said today in their annual media update during the Paris International Motor Show.
“The partnership between Daimler and the Alliance has grown and matured,” said Carlos Ghosn, Alliance chairman and CEO. “It is based on a spirit of cooperation and trust that has strengthened over the years. The results have clearly benefitted both partners. By sharing development and production costs, we have been able to enter new segments and offer our customers more compelling vehicles with the latest technology and features at more competitive prices.”
Dieter Zetsche, Chairman of the Board of Management of Daimler and Head of Mercedes-Benz Cars, added: “Over the last seven years we’ve established a partnership that extends from parts to platforms, from co-development to co-production and from cars to commercial vehicles. And we did so in project-oriented, diverse teams that share competences across continents. They are driven by the best ideas – may they originate in Paris, Stuttgart, or Yokohama. So, our future cooperation continues to hold great promise.”
The partnership reached several major milestones during 2016, including the introduction of EV versions of the new smart fortwo, smart cabrio and smart forfour. These all-new smart and the Renault Twingo models were the first vehicles built on a common platform by Daimler and the Alliance. EV versions of the smart fortwo, smart cabrio and smart forfour debuted at the 2016 Paris Motor Show. The new motors are being built at the Renault plant in Cléon, France. The battery of the new smart electric drive is produced by the Daimler subsidiary, “Deutsche ACCUmotive,” in Kamenz, Germany.
2016 also saw the partnership break ground on its first joint production facility ‘COMPAS’. The US$1bn Aguascalientes, Mexico will be completed in 2017 and will produce next-generation premium compact vehicles for Infiniti as of 2017 and for Mercedes-Benz starting in 2018.
The partnership also sees joint engine development and production in addition to engine cross-supply projects. The Nissan Decherd plant in Tennessee, USA, is currently undergoing expansion and has become an important pillar of Daimler’s flexible, global production network; in addition to serving local demand, the plant exports engines to Mercedes sites in East London, South Africa, as well as machined components to Germany.
When the Daimler-Alliance partnership was launched in April 2010, the scope of the original collaboration was limited to three projects, primarily in Europe. Since then, the combined portfolio shared between the partners is growing in all fields (products, engines and cross-supplying) in Europe, Asia and the Americas.