According to Carlos Ghosn, CEO of Renault-Nissan, the Franco-Japanese carmaker is not interested in adding additional alliances with Chrysler at this time. While Chrysler recently inked a deal to have Nissan manufacture subcompacts to sell in South America, that is as far as it goes. "We have an OE deal. Period," Ghosn said during an interview at the Geneva Motor Show.
It seems Nissan's eyes are elsewhere. Watching GM sales in Russia double from 2006 to 2007, and believing the Russian car market may surpass Germany this year, Renault-Nissan wants its share of the pie, too. The first move was taken when Renault purchased a 25% stake in Avtovaz in December 2007. Avtovaz is Russia's largest automaker and the manufacturer of Lada, its best-selling brand. Now, the company needs to quickly transfer Nissan and Renault platforms and engines to Lada in order to modernize its lineup and compete with an increasing number of imported brands. Once that job is complete, Renault-Nissan will move towards assembling vehicles in Russia, as well.
Don't bet that Ghosn isn't still eyeing Chrysler, as he was quick to add, "We are going to continue to do deals with everybody when they make sense." Of course he will.
[Source: Freep]
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Reader Comments (Page 1 of 1)
SPG @ Mar 7th 2008 9:15AM
I'm a bit sad for Chrysler. I'd like to see that group get back on their feet and win back the respect of the buyers.
I can't blame Nissan though.
In most of the world people are pretty confident that their Nissan will start before any Chrysler on a cold morning.
tanooki2003 @ Mar 7th 2008 9:33AM
This is a very smart decision for Nissan. A partnership with Chrysler would have been a very bad thing.
Noidor @ Mar 7th 2008 9:39AM
If there was a need for additional capacity in US then I am certain that Nissan would have pursued a relationship with Chrysler. But with US market likely to be in shambles for next couple of years, I think it's a solid decision to concentrate on emerging markets instead, and let's not forget about Infiniti's expansion into Europe either.
narf @ Mar 7th 2008 11:31AM
- "We are going to continue to do deals with everybody when they make sense."
In other words, when Cerberus decides to liquidate Chrysler, then he'll be there to deal.
catgirlshyla @ Mar 7th 2008 12:23PM
In before "In Soviet Russia" jokes...
RedBeauty84ZX @ Mar 7th 2008 4:45PM
good for Nissan....I would hate to see a rebadged Chrysler under the Nissan branch!
ambientFLIER @ Mar 7th 2008 10:29PM
In Soviet Russia, car builds YOU !!!