Mercedes-Benz and Renault could develop a premium car together

Carlos Ghosn, Chairman and CEO of Renault-Nissan Alliance and Dr. Dieter Zetsche, Chairman and CEO of Daimler AG, sign the contract April 07 2010

Mercedes chief Dieter Zetsche made the proposal to Renault's leadership to co-develop premium vehicles

Mercedes-Benz chief Dieter Zetsche has offered Renault the chance to co-develop premium cars.

According to a report in a German newspaper, Zetsche told Renault's leadership he would consider creating premium vehicles within the framework of the alliance shared by the two automakers. In April 2010, Mercedes-Benz parent company Daimler and Renault signed a broad-ranging alliance agreement which would see the two automakers co-develop products and share engines.

"Everything is possible, so long as it makes sense commercially for both partners. Mr. Zetsche said the premium segment is not taboo. One has to explore this," said Jerome Stoll, executive vice president for sales and marketing at Renault.

Renault is already in the process of developing new premium models of its own, according to Stoll, such as the new Espace minivan due in 2014.

An alliance with Renault makes sense for Mercedes-Benz, which can use Renault's expertise in building small cars to create competitive products in the compact premium segments. Renault can use Mercedes-Benz know-how to create premium products for itself as well as for sibling brands Nissan and Infiniti.

Source: Reuters

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nforspeed91

Mercedes shouldn't have let go of Mclaren.

October 27, 2011 9:29 am

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2 replies

IGoSlow

Glad they did though. I think the Germans have become too complacent lately through lack of genuine competition.

October 27, 2011 11:00 am

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radmeister

MP4-12C vs SLR...I think the SLR was a much better car and innovative than the MP4. Also looked 1000x better.Ron Dennis is just a douchebag that thinks he is the smartest guy on earth, i can see him arguing with Stephen Hawking about quantum physics. Since the F1 what has he done? Shitty racing results, and what appears to be a disaster of a car yet he walks around like his $hit don't stink and talks down everyone else.

October 28, 2011 7:43 am

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progressive

What a strange combination :)

-4

October 27, 2011 9:40 am

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autoficianado

The truth is Mercedes didn't need McLaren anymore. They used the development of the next generation Dodge Viper to make the SLS AMG and don't forget Daimler also tried for an alliance with Aston Martin. The deal is not strange at all, it's what they have been looking for since DaimlerChrysler. Daimler needs to compete in the small premium market with BMW and Audi. BMW uses Puegot for the Mini, Audi of course uses VW to provide the codeveloped platforms & engines. Using a platform from a mass market automaker lowers cost through volume production, lowers research and development cost since they are shared by more than 1 company. The other Big motivator of this change is the increasing fuel efficiency laws that govern corporate fuel economy. BMW & Mercedes have to sell more small cars to meet the fuel efficiency laws simple as that...and for many of the same reasons this is why Mercedes choose Nissan-Renault as BMW chose Puegot-Citroen. This story is not really new and Mercedes Benz will supply some engines, including some AMG engines for Infiniti cars. There is good synergy here unlike DaimlerChrsyler. Maybach, Mercedes Benz, Infiniti, Smart, & Nissan could make a cohesive global automotive giant that could cover just about every segment.

October 27, 2011 11:26 am

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MolefhiSebaka

Oh dear...

October 27, 2011 10:20 pm

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aksaid

Renault is not what people would look for to buy. If they think they can help other car makers, then they should be a research and development house rather than a product offer provider. Eliminate the DUSTER and other debris from Renault!

-3

October 27, 2011 10:59 pm

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benzboy

Mercedes/Renault vehicle. yeah that will happen, when either Madonna wins an Oscar for best actress, or Streisand celebrates Christmas, by serving Ham for dinner. Oh No.

-2

October 28, 2011 1:35 am

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norther

so mb couldnt seal a deal with aston martin and they settled for renault? now that is cool. i can already see it: "budget s-class, brabus tuned twingos... an uglier a-class with even more plastic".

October 28, 2011 6:45 am

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radmeister

Could be good for Maybach, the French have always had a better sense of style, fashion, and lush environments. Where as the germans excel at engineering and fabrication. Could turn out quite splendidly. And lets face it Renault has much more to offer than Aston Martin does.

October 28, 2011 7:37 am

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Homerlovesbeer

Renault has the style, Mercedes the technology and build quality. Sounds perfect to me....

October 29, 2011 5:14 am

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