Renault-Nissan Expands Cooperation with Daimler to Jointly Develop Powertrain

Renault and Nissan announced a plan at the end of last month to jointly develop a new high-performance powertrain with partner Daimler and deepen the cooperation between the three companies.

During the Paris Motor Show, the Renault-Nissan Alliance and Daimler signed an agreement, and the two parties will begin joint development of high-fuel-efficient powertrains covering small engines and automatic transmissions.

Daimler will work with Renault to develop a series of 1.3-liter displacement four-cylinder gasoline engines. The new engines will use technologies such as direct fuel injection and have superior fuel economy and emission characteristics. Renault-Nissan and Daimler plan to jointly manufacture the engine, and it is expected that the new cars will first appear in Daimler and Renault-Nissan from 2016.

Daimler's luxury Mercedes-Benz will also provide new automatic transmission production licenses to Nissan and Infiniti brands. The gearbox uses start-stop technology, Park and Shift by Wire, etc. technology. Renault-Nissan CEO Carlos Ghosn said that the new automatic transmission will be manufactured by Renault Nissan, a Nissan subsidiary, in Mexico.

Ghosn and Daimler CEO Zechu both pointed out that the cooperation project will save the manufacturing and R&D expenditures for the three companies and expects to produce more than 3 million new engines in the future. Ghosn said at the press conference: "This cooperation focuses on scale and sharing and it is currently running well."

The CEOs of the two companies also confirmed that the two parties are still negotiating cooperation in the field of fuel cell vehicle powertrains and other areas, and are committed to a cross-supply project to provide batteries and powertrain assemblies for each other's small electric vehicles.