Citing inside sources, Bloomberg reports today that Chrysler and Nissan are in talks to develop cars, trucks and engines together. Both companies happen to be the third largest automakers in their home market and both are used to collaborative efforts in car making. Chrysler is working with Volkswagen on minivans and Chinese automaker Chery on a small car, for instance, while Nissan-Renault continues to seek a partner in the U.S. after a proposed partnership with General Motors fell through. Chrysler and Nissan, however, are reportedly not considering acquiring any type of ownership in each other. The co-development would be limited to truck development for Nissan, small car development for Chrysler and joint development of new engines. Nissan is likely hoping that tapping into a U.S. automakers' expertise on full-size trucks will lead to changes that make its Titan pickup more competitive. Chrysler, meanwhile, is still without a car smaller than the Caliber and could benefit from Nissan's experience selling small cars in Japan and Europe. Again, the talks are private so neither company has confirmed they're in discussions, but collaboration on this scale seems to becoming more common in the industry, especially for automakers that aren't the biggest, but aren't the smallest, either.[Source: Bloomberg]
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Reader Comments (Page 1 of 2)
Menice @ Dec 14th 2007 11:38AM
oh shiz what a dumb move......thats like Macy's asking to swap/share ideas and goods with the The .99 cent store.
nissan is just itching to pair with anyone still i see.
Gregg @ Dec 14th 2007 11:50AM
Um, which is Macy's and which is the .99 store? I'm assuming you meant Nissan is Macy's, but both automakers have strengths that the other can tap into. Both are weaker totally on their own.
Pauls45 @ Dec 14th 2007 11:55AM
“Nissan wants to tap Chrysler’s expertise with large trucks”
It might make sense for Nissan to throw in the towel on the Titan/Armada/QX56. Looks like the sales are about 5K/3K/1K per month.
“Chrysler seeks access to Nissan’s small cars.”
That would be better than using some Chinese platform, for sure.
If I was Ghosn, I'd be wanting a 6.7L CTD and 68RFE for my Heavy Duty Titan. Instant cred' in the fullsize market.
Throwback @ Dec 14th 2007 11:40AM
This makes sense. If sucessful this partnership may lead to Carlos the great running a 3rd car maker in a few years.
geo.stewart @ Dec 14th 2007 12:29PM
yeah, i was thinking this is prelude to a kiss.2-3 yrs of this working and Cerebrus getting things in order and Carlos will take chrysler off their hands.
John R @ Dec 14th 2007 11:41AM
well...small car development is good, especially when the only thing you got is the Caliber.
here's to hoping that some of that VQ DNA makes it into Chrsyler V6s somewhere down the line.
John R @ Dec 14th 2007 11:44AM
i don't think so. Ram is a decent truck, and in this segement it could pay dividends to learn all you can.
John R @ Dec 14th 2007 11:45AM
^^ above was for menice
Menice @ Dec 14th 2007 11:52AM
then carlos should buy the Chilton manual for the
'decent' truck. not go hanging out with the smelly kid in the school.
Calebe @ Dec 14th 2007 11:53AM
this would be much better source for a small car than chery. The Note or the Micra could be used for Chrysler.
rar @ Dec 14th 2007 12:02PM
Maybe they could combine the Challenger and the GT-R. Ha Ha.
nissanfreak87 @ Dec 14th 2007 12:39PM
Challenge-R!!
that would be scary! in a good way, haha
BLS @ Dec 14th 2007 12:04PM
Because the Chrysler Sentra sounds like a winner.
Rocketboy @ Dec 14th 2007 12:26PM
What's next? Cats sleeping with dogs?
lalaland @ Dec 14th 2007 12:26PM
Correction: Chrysler is not the third-largest car company in their home market. It's No 4, with Toyota having passed it in sales. I know what you were getting at, Chrysler is the third largest American-owned car company, but your syntax is inaccurate.
James @ Dec 14th 2007 3:08PM
dude, the syntax is fine. Home market for each automaker is different, i.e., home market for Chrysler is USA, while home market for Toyota is Japan.
Can we all just leave Autoblog alone on grammar? As long as the point of the story gets across, who really cares? If you want to read Pulitzer worthy stuff, go somewhere else.
500 @ Dec 14th 2007 12:34PM
Great Chrysler, giving away your most profitable product to the enemy. And for what, small cars that you'll likely never make a dime on, just to meet CAFE standards?
MK @ Dec 14th 2007 1:09PM
Hmm, last time Chrysler & Renault got together, we got the Encore. Motor trend's COTY for that year (???) Fortunately, Carlos is Midas & Chrysler's got some smart people too. The Titan doesn't seem like a bad truck, but I'd never buy one, Chrysler needs the help with small cars & V6's.
Stéphane Dumas @ Dec 14th 2007 4:21PM
MK
when Renault did the Encore and the Alliance (who was Motor Trend Car of the Year in 1983), it was AMC not Chrysler. Chrysler however inherited of a Renault design when they buyed AMC in 1987, it became the Eagle Premier (and 1990-92 Dodge Monaco)
J. D. Billiford @ Dec 14th 2007 1:15PM
>>> This news comes as no surprise and produces little, if any, drama.
Both Chrysler and Nissan have in the past expressed an interest in seeking cooperation with other manufacturers to both improve and expand their respective products and market share. This is just one more sign of the times in the industry. All auto manufacturers are, or will, have to consider some type of collaboration with other companies, including their rivals, to remain competitive and survive.
Frankly, I'm not concerned about Chrysler losing it's edge or position as a maker large trucks. In fact, in view of the current geo-political situation, I would prefer to see Chrysler develop a program to produce small cars with Nissan than I would with Chery.