Daimler CEO Dieter Zetsche said late Sunday that the German automaker will not enter a formal tie-up with the Renault-Nissan alliance.
“We have a very clear understanding on both sides that these are independent companies,” Zetsche told reporters. “There is no intention for any further capital linkage.”
When a reporter from Bloomberg News suggested it would be a “terrific marriage” to join all three companies, he said flatly they wouldn’t go further. “We share the office and not the bedroom — and that works perfectly well.”
On Sunday, Nissan Motor Co. said it will build four-cylinder Mercedes-Benz gas engines in Tennessee as part of a two-year-old cooperation accord between Mercedes parent Daimler AG and the Renault-Nissan Alliance. The companies signed the cooperation deal in 2010 and took small equity holdings in one another. Among their cost-savings projects, Renault-Nissan also will supply a small-car platform for both Renault and Mercedes Smart-brand cars.
Zetsche called the arrangements “more and more common” and said the engine deal was “a good thing. Those are Mercedes-Benz engines … we will insure Mercedes quality”
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