Mercedes Rejected Partnerships With VW, Fiat and BMW
Prior to teaming up with Nissan-Renault, Mercedes considered other partnerships in order to make a new small car. Possible suitors included Volkswagen, BMW and Fiat.
“When we were planning the current generation of front-wheel drive vehicles we were entertaining a number of discussions with BMW, with Fiat, with VW to check whether it makes sense to do something together,” said Daimler CEO Dieter Zetsche during an analyst call today.
However, the folks at Mercedes concluded that any benefits to such a partnership would be minimal. Instead it joined up with Nissan-Renault. The products of this partnership are widespread, with the two companies sharing a front-wheel drive architecture used in the Mercedes-Benz CLA/A-Class and upcoming Infiniti Q30 (above). That platform is also put to use in the GLA class and Europe-only B-class Mercedes vehicles as well.
Additionally, the two companies are sharing engine expertise, with Mercedes producing engines for its 2014 C-Class in Nissan’s Tennessee plant.
Finally, the collaboration resulted in a new smart model, which shares a platform with the Europe-only Renault Twingo.
Mercedes is also collaborating with Tesla in order to make its smart fortwo and B-Class Electric Drive vehicles. Mercedes’ partnerships also extend to the world of exotics where Mercedes-AMG engines will be used in Aston Martins. There’s still the possibility of a Mercedes platform underpinning an Aston Martin SUV.
Source: [ Automotive News Europe]
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Sami has an unquenchable thirst for car knowledge and has been at AutoGuide for the past six years. He has a degree in journalism and media studies from the University of Guelph-Humber in Toronto and has won multiple journalism awards from the Automotive Journalist Association of Canada. Sami is also on the jury for the World Car Awards.
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