Cooperation of Daimler and Renault-Nissan Alliance Accelerates, Strengthens in 2015

FRANKFURT, Germany, Sept. 16, 2015 /CNW/ -

• Original project portfolio has more than quadrupled to 13 projects on three continents
• Significant 2015 milestones include groundbreaking of joint assembly plant in Mexico, expansion of cooperation portfolio into pickup trucks
• Infiniti Q30 production starts later this year; car on display at Frankfurt International Motor Show
• EV versions of new smart fortwo and forfour to be powered by Renault electric motors

The partnership between the Renault-Nissan Alliance and Daimler AG accelerated and strengthened as it entered its sixth year in 2015, the companies' leaders said today in their annual media update during the Frankfurt International Motor Show.

     (Logo: http://photos.prnewswire.com/prnh/20140130/666713-a )

Carlos Ghosn, Chairman and CEO of the Alliance, described the partnership as "one of the most productive in the auto industry."

"It has accelerated the time-to-market for vehicle launches and has been an obvious strategic advantage for each partner," Ghosn said. "We look forward to its continued growth, with more joint projects in the future."

Dieter Zetsche, Chairman of the Board of Management of Daimler and Head of Mercedes-Benz Cars, agreed.

"Since the start of our cooperation in 2010, our joint projects have created value for our customers worldwide," Zetsche said. "This year we further deepened the collaboration and announced two completely new projects. We cooperate when it is mutually beneficial. And that is the way we will keep it."

Major milestones so far in 2015 include:

• Groundbreaking of a jointly owned assembly plant in Aguascalientes, Mexico: Nissan and Daimler recently broke ground on the U.S. $1 billion Aguascalientes plant, which will produce next-generation premium compact vehicles for Infiniti from 2017, and Mercedes-Benz starting in 2018. Nissan and Daimler will co-develop the vehicles. The plant is expected to produce more than 230,000 cars a year by 2020. They will also be produced at other Daimler and Nissan plants in Europe and China. The joint assembly plant is located next to the Nissan plant in Aguascalientes.
• Development of a 1-ton pickup truck for Mercedes-Benz : Earlier this year, Daimler and Nissan announced development of the first Mercedes-Benz entry into the pickup segment. The new pickup will share some of its architecture with the all-new Nissan NP300, but will be engineered and designed by Daimler to meet the specific needs of its customers in Europe, Australia, South Africa and Latin America.

Full release available here: http://www.media.blog.alliance-renault-nissan.com/news/5561

SOURCE Renault-Nissan Alliance

Jörg Howe, Daimler AG, Phone: [phone], Email: [email protected]; Mia Nielsen, Renault-Nissan Alliance, Phone: [phone], Email: [email protected]