Nissan’s CEO Carols Ghosn believes the secret to success is simple – it’s volume. That’s why Ghosn has made no secret of Nissan’s search for a strategic partner to help it produce vast quantities of vehicles for less.
One partnership that Nissan solidified recently was with Chrysler. The Japanese automaker agreed to produce a small car for Chrysler, while the Detroit automaker would produce a Ram-based truck that would become the replacement for the full-size Titan. Unfortunately, the deal fell apart when Chrysler fell into bankruptcy, but Nissan continued its search.
New reports suggest that the search may end with Daimler. Already Germany’s Daimler has been in talks with Nissan’s parent company, Renault. If the two solidify their pending equity tie-up, Nissan also may also squeeze its way into that relationship.
“We are talking with many companies, many partners but I don’t want to make any comment on something that is absolutely not decided or something which has absolutely not been the object of any decisions,” said Ghosn.
As with the previous deal between Nissan and Chrysler, the proposed deal between Daimler and Renault would help the automakers leverage their perspective strengths – Daimler would help Renault in the luxury car segment while Renault would help Daimler in the small car segment.
“The name of the game is scale and co-investments and sharing technologies,” Ghosn said. “You would be surprised at how many companies we are talking with for collaboration. I think it’s not only Renault-Nissan, I think it’s the whole industry.”
Although some observers are skeptical, Fife Nissan dealers are eager to see the partnership become a reality. Both automakers bring different strengths to the table, and together can bring unique technology and engineering to both of their product lineups.
Given the turbulence and subsequent demise of the Nissan-Chrysler tie-up, the link between Rental, Daimler, and Nissan is far from concrete. But Ghosn continues to have lofty ambitions and his quest for a new alliance may ultimately lure Daimler’s Zetsche yet.
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