Ghosn & Zetsche: This Couple Is Expecting A Baby

Bertel Schmitt
by Bertel Schmitt
ghosn zetsche this couple is expecting a baby

Daimler and Nissan may announce some serious platform sharing, t.b.a. either today or tomorrow on the sidelines of the Frankfurt Motor Show. Bloomberg has heard that Daimler “is considering sharing its small-car platform with Nissan Motor Co.’s Infiniti brand.”

The wire says that “the potential to expand cooperation between Infiniti and the German company’s Mercedes-Benz division may be discussed tomorrow at a joint press conference by Daimler Chief Executive Officer Dieter Zetsche and Nissan CEO Carlos Ghosn.” Actually, it might be today. There is an intimate press briefing scheduled for today, Sept. 14 early afternoon . We won’t be there (I refused to get my derriere from Tokyo to Frankfurt), but we will update you.

Both Ghosn and leading executives at Nissan and Renault had been dropping heavy hints over the last few months that the cooperation with Daimler is progressing very well, and that a big announcement should be expected. It did not sound like a joint procurement of headliners.

Nissan/Renault’s Carlos Ghosn is especially proud of his loose alliances and said privately and semi-officially that buying other car companies is so last millennium and that his way is the way to go. When he says it, it becomes clear that he is thinking of the tanking Volkswagen-Suzuki partnership, and of Fiat-Chrysler which is missing the boat when it comes to emerging markets. Ghosn never misses a chance to remark that the only cross cultural alliance that really works is Renault and Nissan.

In April 2010, Daimler, Nissan and Renault had announced a three-way tie-up, with token single-digit cross-share holdings. The alliance was initially focused on small cars, which become increasingly important. They also need considerable volume to be profitable. As we had told you here and here, the threesome agreed on co-developing new generations of Daimler’s Smart and Renault’s Twingo. Daimler had also agreed to supply engines to Infiniti.

Unless the press briefing has been moved, you will know more today.

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  • Sector 5 Sector 5 on Sep 14, 2011

    Wrong Bavarian Carlos you want the other one.

    • Sector 5 Sector 5 on Sep 14, 2011

      Wrong Deutsche lander Carlos you need a Bavarian.

  • Robert Schwartz Robert Schwartz on Sep 14, 2011

    Somewhere in Germany a cabal of Daimler engineers is meeting in a Beer Hall plotting how they are going to turn Renault into the next Chrysler.

  • Jeff S I don't believe gm will die but that it will continue to shrink in product and market share and it will probably be acquired by a foreign manufacturer. I doubt gm lacks funds as it did in 2008 and that they have more than enough cash at hand but gm will not expand as it did in the past and the emphasis is more on profitability and cutting costs to the bone. Making gm a more attractive takeover target and cut costs at the expense of more desirable and reliable products. At the time of Farago's article I was in favor of the Government bailout more to save jobs and suppliers but today I would not be in favor of the bailout. My opinions on gm have changed since 2008 and 2009 and now I really don't care if gm survives or not.
  • Kwik_Shift I was a GM fan boy until it ended in 2013 when I traded in my Avalanche to go over to Nissan.
  • Stuart de Baker I didn't bother to read this article. I'll wait until a definitive headline comes out, and I'll be surprised if Tesla actually produces the Cybertruck. It certainly looks impractical for both snowy and hot sunny weather.
  • Stuart de Baker This is very interesting information. I was in no danger of buying a Tesla. I love my '08 Civic (stick), and it feels just as responsive as when I bought it 11 years ago with 35k on the clock (now 151k), and barring mishaps, I plan to keep it for the next 25 years or so, which would put me into my mid-90s, assuming I live that long. On your information, I will avoid renting Teslas.
  • RHD The only people who would buy this would be those convinced by a website that they are great, and order one sight-unseen. They would have to have be completely out of touch with every form of media for the last year. There might actually be a few of these people, but not very many. They would also have to be completely ignorant of the Hyundai Excel. (Vinfast seems to make the original Excel look like a Camry in comparison.)
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