Yesterday Nissan and Chrysler announced a new partnership that is going to spawn a new small car and full-size pickup.
In January Nissan and Chrysler announced that Nissan is going to supply Chrysler with a car based on the small Versa sedan that will be sold in South America. Now the partnership is going to go even further with Nissan producing another small car for Chrysler that will be sold all over the world in 2010. The car will be based on a unique Chrysler concept and design.
Chrysler is also going to build a full-size pickup for Nissan. The truck will be based on a unique Nissan design and will be built at Chrysler's Saltillo (Mexico) plant. The pickup will go on sale in 2011. So who knows what this means for the fate of the Titan or even the Armada/ QX56 SUVs which all share the same platform.
And just in case you are wondering this new partnership does not have any impact on Chrysler's current relationship with Chery.
PRESS RELEASE:
AUBURN HILLS, Mich / TOKYO (April 14, 2008) – Chrysler LLC and Nissan Motor Co., Ltd., today announced two new agreements for the supply of products between both companies. In January, Nissan agreed to supply Chrysler with a new car based on the Nissan Versa sedan for limited distribution in South America on an Original Equipment Manufacture (OEM) basis in 2009.
This new OEM exchange benefits both companies through range extension and the utilization of global manufacturing capacity. Highlights of the new agreement:
Nissan will manufacture an all-new, fuel-efficient small car based on a unique Chrysler concept and design. This new segment entry for Chrysler will be sold in North America, Europe and other global markets in 2010, and manufactured at Nissan's Oppama Plant in Japan.
Chrysler will manufacture a full-size pickup for Nissan. Based on a Nissan unique design, this truck will be manufactured at Chrysler's Saltillo (Mexico) Assembly Plant. In order to accommodate this product, Chrysler will shift volume from Mexico to its U.S.-based assembly plants that produce pickup trucks. Sales of the pickup in North America will start in 2011.
This latest OEM supply agreement extends a long standing product exchange relationship between the two corporations, with Nissan affiliate JATCO already supplying Chrysler with transmissions since 2004.
"Forging the right tactical partnerships is critical to the long-term success of Chrysler," said Tom LaSorda, Chrysler LLC President and Vice Chairman. "It also builds on the Company's inherent strengths, including the ability to respond rapidly and creatively to emerging opportunities."
"In January, we said we would continue to look for additional OEM opportunities with Chrysler," said Carlos Tavares, Executive Vice President, Nissan Motor Company. "This latest agreement builds on Nissan's proven track record to deliver win-win product exchanges with multiple manufacturers around the world," continued Tavares.
Since the signing of the first OEM agreement in January, the two companies have also agreed to maintain an open dialogue to explore further product-sharing opportunities.
Comments (19)
Why would Nissan need to partner up with Chrysler (of all automakers, they're partnered with the one that keeps recalling vehicles!!!)???
Posted by Saheed | April 15, 2008 12:30 PM
Posted on April 15, 2008 12:30
now we get to watch the end of nissan. hope you all had fun!
Posted by Dan | April 15, 2008 12:43 PM
Posted on April 15, 2008 12:43
@ Dan:
I wouldn't be surprised if that were true bro!!! LOL.
Posted by Saheed | April 15, 2008 12:57 PM
Posted on April 15, 2008 12:57
^^ you are both retarded
Chrysler makes some of the best trucks in the world and nissan makes some of the best small cars in the world. this agreement will benefit both companies by giving both companies a better offering in each segment.
its truly a win-win.
Posted by Dane | April 15, 2008 1:14 PM
Posted on April 15, 2008 13:14
This announcement puts me in a bad mood.
Posted by Todd | April 15, 2008 4:04 PM
Posted on April 15, 2008 16:04
Sorry....the truck part of this deal is going to be a monumentally bad move for Nissan. Chrysler can't even sell their own products, why does Nissan think they can sell a Ram-clone?
Posted by WS | April 15, 2008 4:08 PM
Posted on April 15, 2008 16:08
For the record, I have had 2 Nissans in the past (excellent, reliable vehicles) and 1 Dodge ( problematic, but to be fair a first year model). I actually believe that this will be the beginning of a trend that alot of automakers will follow. As production has peaked(especially in the US and Europe), car makers are looking to scale down and share vehicle lines. This partnership will greatly benefit Chrysler as their recent forays in compact/midsize segment has been underwhelming. Nissan invested a sizable amount to produce the Titan/Armada but is feeling the effects of a down market for large vehicles. VW will also be getting a rebodied minivan from Dodge, Suzuki will receive a rebadged Frontier. For better or worse, I feel that this trend will continue.
Posted by longdxcommuter | April 15, 2008 4:22 PM
Posted on April 15, 2008 16:22
globalization
Posted by dennisil | April 15, 2008 4:24 PM
Posted on April 15, 2008 16:24
As long as this stays in the truck realm, I can accept it. But please Nissan, tread carefully, you are the best car company in the world and I don't want to see your product quality decline.
Posted by gm0n3y | April 15, 2008 5:06 PM
Posted on April 15, 2008 17:06
Nissan is making the vehicle so i guess they get to impose their quality control, right?
@ longdxcommuter
"This partnership will greatly benefit Chrysler as their recent forays in compact/midsize segment has been underwhelming."
wow that's the nicest thing I've heard about the PT Cruiser in recent years :D
Posted by SVT | April 15, 2008 5:30 PM
Posted on April 15, 2008 17:30
Renault should know better than to let Nissan partner with Chrysler. Just look at Mitsubishi. Or Lamborghini. Or to a lesser extent, Lotus.
But to be fair, the Nissan trucks of past were below par compared to Toyota, GM, or Ford. But then again, most of the R&D for those trucks was in the US.
Posted by Jason | April 15, 2008 6:33 PM
Posted on April 15, 2008 18:33
"of all automakers, they're partnered with the one that keeps recalling vehicles"
If they didn't recall them, you'd likely be ignorant of the problem even existing, and therefore they'd be better off not recalling anything not directly safety-related?
If they were VW they wouldn't recall anything unless they felt they absolutely couldn't avoid it (like a safety issue). Electrical problem? Make the customer eat it. No recall, no problem!
Posted by Alexvrb | April 15, 2008 7:25 PM
Posted on April 15, 2008 19:25
Nissan will sink !!!
Posted by R3TNIAP | April 15, 2008 11:39 PM
Posted on April 15, 2008 23:39
Watch Nissan catch the same disease that destroyed Mercedes quality.
Posted by ChryslerisHerpes | April 16, 2008 2:53 AM
Posted on April 16, 2008 02:53
Chrysler is a lepper with 3 factories, a mountain of liaibilities and no serious development capacity.
What they do have, is a nice design stydio that makes nice renderings.
That made Daimlers head spin. It nearly rolled-off.
Now the leppers convinced Nissan to give them 2 puffs of oxigen to limp to the next victim (the american consumer).
Hope its not contageous. Tata, Geely etc be aware!!!
Posted by waldorf and statler | April 16, 2008 5:05 AM
Posted on April 16, 2008 05:05
@ Jason
Your statement about "bad" Nissan trucks might be arguable for the Titan, but the Frontier is arguably only bettered by the Tacoma, and at a pretty hefty price penalty to go with the Toys.
Frontiers are just a boatload nicer than Ford, Chrysler, and GM's offerings in smaller trucks.
Posted by Todd | April 16, 2008 10:52 AM
Posted on April 16, 2008 10:52
Just a question: if nissan is partner with Chrysler, is it possible that Renault is partner too with Chrysler, because of his partnership with Nissan?
Posted by paul | April 17, 2008 10:49 AM
Posted on April 17, 2008 10:49
It maybe be a good solution for Renault...
Posted by paul | April 17, 2008 10:54 AM
Posted on April 17, 2008 10:54
@Todd:
Sorry I should be more clear, when I say "truck" I include SUV's as well. The Pathfinder/Armada/QX56 haven't done so well quality-wise. Yeah it's built on the same platform as the Titan, so it's actually just one "vehicle". But when Nissan has only two truck platforms (the Titan dopplegangers and the Frontier/Xterra) and one of them is plagued with problems, it easy to argue that Nissan makes a bad truck.
Renault holds about 45% of Nissan's shares but what's wierd is that Nissan itself holds some 15% of Renault's shares. Since the two companies are rather intrinsically bound to each other, it's hard to say how Renault will be tied into this GM partnership. But since the Versa is based off the Clio, well... that's seems rather complicated...
Posted by Jason | April 17, 2008 11:35 AM
Posted on April 17, 2008 11:35