Three of the biggest names in the automotive industry, Renault, Nissan and Daimler, have today announced they are to join forces to accelerate their drive into the low carbon and electric vehicle market.
In a move that further underlines the growing willingness amongst global brands to collaborate in the development of low carbon technologies, the existing Renault-Nissan Alliance has confirmed it will work with German auto giant Daimler to work on the development of the next generation versions of the Renault Twingo and Daimler’s smart fortwo, including new electric models.
The companies said that they will also share new forms of powertrain and engine that promise to enhance efficiency across their passenger cars and light commercial vehicle lines.
The wide ranging partnership is backed by a one-time cross-shareholding amounting to 3.1 per cent of each partner’s equity capital, and will also result in a number of shared best practices, including potential joint purchasing deals.
Dr. Dieter Zetsche, chairman of the board of management of Daimler AG and head of Mercedes-Benz Cars, hailed the alliance as a complementary fit that would immediately strengthen competitiveness in the small and compact car segment while reducing the company’s carbon footprint.
Carlos Ghosn, chairman and chief executive of the Renault-Nissan Alliance, added that the deal would allow both firms to “work on broadening and strengthening our product offering, efficiently utilizing all available resources and developing the innovative technologies required in the coming decade”.
While the partnership will cover a wide range of different models and technologies, it appears to be driven in large part by the desire to curb emissions and share the high costs associated with the development of low carbon vehicles.
In particular, the companies said that they will use a jointly developed architecture for the Renault Twingo and the successor to the current smart fortwo, a new smart four-seater designed to tap the growing market for small and fuel efficient vehicles.
Both models are expected to be launched in 2013 and the companies said that each model would be available with an electric drive right from the first day of production.
They also confirmed in a statement that “opportunities to co-develop technologies relating to electric vehicles and batteries will be explored between Renault, Nissan and Daimler”.
The deal will further underline the firms’ position as leaders in the development of low carbon and electric vehicles. Most notably, Nissan is preparing to launch its electric Leaf later this year, while Daimler has developed an electric version of its popular smart car and has a number of technology deals already in place with leading electric car firms such as China’s BYD.
Renault, meanwhile, is heavily involved in the Better Place initiative to roll out battery swap stations, rolling out its new renault Fluence electric vehicles as part of the project.
