Renault in partnership talks with Daimler and others
French carmaker Renault is in talks with German rival Daimler and others about partnerships to cut costs as the industry tries to become more efficient exiting the downturn.
the talk include a variety of technology projects and to achieve economies of scale through increased volumes, a senior executive said Thursday.
Chief Operating Officer Patrick Pelata told a group of journalists that Renault is having “serious” discussions with Germany’s Daimler AG and many other automotive companies, including Chinese ones, about possible collaboration in areas such as engines, transmissions and platforms.
“We are in talks with at least one other company in each of these sectors,” Pelata said.
All car makers that have been battered by the severe industry slump over the past 18 months are looking for ways to forge alliances as a way to share costs.
Pelata disclosed that Renault had been talking to Japan’s Suzuki Motor Co before that company eventually decided to link up with Germany’s Volkswagen AG
Renault’s local rival PSA Peugeot-Citroen and Japan’s Mitsubishi Motors Co recently announced they plan to deepen their existing collaboration.
“Yes, we are discussing serious matters with Daimler,” Pelata told Automotive News.
“Serious matters” seems to roughly translate to “small cars.” Automotive News reports the partnership could help stock the Smart division with new product, and possibly share components (if not platforms) for the next iteration of the A- and B-class compact cars. Of course, the two companies could even sync development of their electric vehicle portfolios — a large project at Renault and Nissan.
“(We will) try to share the costs of access to new technologies — anything that is very expensive,” said Pelata.
Reports have suggested that Renault and Daimler are looking to collaborate on a new rear-engined micro car platform which would suit the likes of the new electric Renault Twizy and the next generation of Smart cars due in 2013.
The Russian market has collapsed this year, with sales running about half the level of a year ago, but Pelata said he’s confident that the Russian market will perk up in the second half of next year, and that eventually Renault, Nissan and Avtovaz together will control between 25% and 30% of the Russian market.
Renault and Nissan are already linked through cross-shareholdings, and Renault has a 25% stake in AutoVAZ.
The three companies together will have sales of seven to eight million vehicles around 2013, Pelata said, and volume production of this magnitude will generate significant economies of scale.
admin with source from automotive news
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