Daimler and Nissan to produce engines
together in North America
Detroit/Stuttgart/Paris - In the latest
step forward in the collaboration of Daimler and the Renault-Nissan
Alliance, Nissan’s Decherd, Tenn., plant will build Mercedes-Benz
4-cylinder engines for Infiniti and Mercedes-Benz starting in 2014.
Daimler and Nissan will produce
Mercedes-Benz 4-cylinder gasoline engines together at Nissan’s
powertrain assembly plant in Decherd, Tenn. Production will begin in
2014, with installed capacity of 250,000 units per year once full
ramp–up is achieved. The Decherd facility will produce engines for
Mercedes-Benz and Infiniti models.
“This is the newest milestone in our
pragmatic collaboration and our most significant project outside of
Europe so far,” said Renault-Nissan CEO Carlos Ghosn. “Localized
capacity reduces exposure to foreign exchange rates while rapidly
enabling a good business development in North America – a win-win for
the Alliance and Daimler.”
The collaboration marks the first
production of Mercedes-Benz engines in the North America Free Trade
region. The Tennessee plant’s strategic location and logistics links
ensure a direct supply of engines starting in 2014 for the Mercedes-Benz
C-Class, built at Daimler’s vehicle plant in Tuscaloosa, Ala.
“In the context of our Mercedes-Benz 2020
growth strategy, we have decided that we will expand the production
capacities required for this close to the customers. Through the
strategic extension of our cooperation with Renault-Nissan we can
realize near-market engine production in the NAFTA region on attractive
economic terms and make optimum use of synergies arising from the
cooperation.” Dr. Dieter Zetsche, Chairman of the Daimler Board of
Management and Head of Mercedes-Benz Cars, said. “Thus we are
systematically broadening our manufacturing footprint in this important
growth market.”
Nissan began powertrain assembly in
Decherd in 1997. Today it manufactures 4-, 6- and 8-cylinder engines for
the complete lineup of U.S.-produced Nissan and Infiniti vehicles. The
plant also houses crankshaft forging and cylinder block casting
operations. In 2011, Decherd produced more than 580,000 engines on a
covered area of more than 1.2 million square feet (111,000 square
meters).
Project portfolio expands
Daimler and the Renault-Nissan Alliance
launched their strategic collaboration in April 2010, including an
equity exchange that gives the Renault-Nissan Alliance a 3.1 percent
stake in Daimler and Daimler a combined 3.1 percent interest in Renault
and Nissan.
The collaboration began with three project
pillars:
■ Joint smart/Twingo architecture: The
project is on track for launch in the early first quarter of 2014.
Two-seater smart vehicles will be produced at Daimler’s plant in Hambach,
France, and four-seater smart and Renault production are slated for
Renault’s plant in Novo Mesto, Slovenia.
■ All-new entry-level city van project for
Mercedes-Benz: The project is on schedule with expected launch in late
2012.
■ Powertrain cross-supply: The Alliance is
supplying Daimler with compact three-cylinder gasoline engines to be
used in smart and Twingo vehicles and four-cylinder diesel engines to be
used in the jointly developed light commercial vehicle and in
Mercedes-Benz’s next generation of premium compact cars. Daimler will
supply Nissan and Infiniti with four- and six-cylinder gasoline and
diesel engines from the current and future engine portfolio as well as
with automatic transmissions.
Since its founding in April 2010, the
collaboration has been gradually expanded. In addition to the
announcement this week about North American engine production, the
companies had decided earlier to partner on: ■ Platform sharing:
Infiniti plans to base a premium compact vehicle on the Mercedes
compact-car architecture, starting in 2014.
■ Zero-emission vehicles: Daimler will
provide batteries from its production facility in Kamenz, Germany, and
Renault-Nissan will provide electric motors for the use in electric
vehicles (smart and Twingo ZE). First releases will occur in 2014.
