Skip to main content
Sister Publication Links
  • Automotive News
  • Automobilwoche
  • Automotive News Canada
  • Automotive News China
Subscribe
  • Subscribe
  • Newsletters
  • Login
  • HOME
    • Latest news
    • Automakers
    • Suppliers
    • New Product
    • Environment/Emissions
    • Sales By Market
    • On The Move
    • Auto Shows
    • Munich Auto Show
    • Geneva Auto Show
    • Paris Auto Show
    • Beijing Auto Show
    • Shanghai Auto Show
  • Features
    • Long Read
    • Interview of the Month
    • Focus on Electrification
    • Focus on Technology
    • Segment Analysis
    • Cars & Concepts
    • Supplier Spotlight
    • Europe By The Numbers
  • Opinion
    • Blogs
    • Commentary
    • Guest columnists
  • Photos
    • Photo Galleries
    • Geneva Photo Gallery
    • Beijing Photo Gallery
    • Frankfurt Photo Gallery
    • Paris Photo Gallery
    • Shanghai Photo Gallery
  • Podcasts
  • Car Cutaways
  • EVENTS
    • ANE Congress
    • ANE Rising Stars
    • ANE Eurostars
  • More
    • Publishing Partners
    • Social Media
    • Contact Us
    • Media Kit
    • About Us
    • Capgemini: All or nothing: Why circular business models require a holistic approach
    • Capgemini: Invent Head on automotive takeaways from CES 2023
    • Capgemini: Securing the industry's future through a radical rethink
    • Capgemini: Succeeding with the automated driving journey through AI
    • Capgemini: The circular economy is spurring new thinking on EV batteries
    • Capgemini: Toyota and Capgemini leaders on how OEMs can handle industry changes and succeed
    • HEXAGON: Plugging into data is the only way to make winning EVs
    • TUV Rheinland: Ideas, services and certifications for smart mobility
    • TUV Rheinland: Testing of automated and autonomous vehicles on test tracks
    • Toyota Europe
    • UFI Filters
    • Facebook
    • Instagram
    • LinkedIn
    • Twitter
MENU
Breadcrumb
  1. Home
  2. Automakers
June 01, 2020 10:37 AM

Renault aims to revive partnership with Daimler

  • Tweet
  • Share
  • Share
  • Email
  • More
    Print

    The Mercedes Citan small van is a version of the Renault Kangoo and is built in a Renault factory.

    Renault is looking to breathe fresh life into its flagging partnership with Daimler, just as the German company has focused on working with BMW and Geely.

    The collaboration started in 2010, when the Renault-Nissan alliance and Daimler announced plans to develop a platform for the Smart and Twingo minicars. To demonstrate their commitment, Daimler took a 3.1 percent stake in Renault and Nissan each, while the Franco-Japanese alliance acquired a 3.1 percent stake in Daimler. 

    Renault-Nissan and Daimler have worked together on more than a dozen joint projects, but momentum ground to a halt in 2016. No new projects have since been announced and only one, the Renault Kangoo-based Mercedes-Benz Citan urban delivery van, has been extended.

    Renault Chairman Jean-Dominique Senard told reporters on Friday that he and interim CEO Clothilde Delbos “decided at the end of last year to re-trigger that alliance, because it was well worth it.”

    “I can tell you that from the CEO of Daimler we got a very positive reaction and we are working very regularly with his teams to see how we can ensure that the future of that particular alliance can continue,” he said.

    Former Renault-Nissan boss Carlos Ghosn and Daimler CEO Dieter Zetsche were often considered to be the glue holding the partnership together. The two held their last joint press briefing on the state of their partnership in October 2018. Weeks later Ghosn was arrested in Japan on charges of financial improprieties, and Zetsche retired the following May.

    By that point, however, Daimler was already shifting its attention to other partners. After Chinese automotive group Zhejiang Geely took a surprise 10 percent stake in Daimler, Zetsche and incoming CEO Ola Kallenius sought to find areas of cooperation with its new shareholder. This culminated in a March 2019 deal to sell half of Smart to Geely and produce the car in China.

    Daimler has also increased its cooperation with BMW beyond joint purchasing to include Level 3 autonomous driving and mobility services.

    Analysts by that point believed Daimler had lost interest in Renault-Nissan, as Ghosn had left and the French-Japanese alliance appeared rudderless.

    Positive dialogue

    Last Wednesday as the alliance announced details of a strategy shift, Senard described the partnership with Daimler as “strong and it is getting stronger.” He said it was his “deep hope” that he would be able to make an announcement regarding it in the coming weeks.

    On Friday Senard said: “So far the dialogue has been extremely positive, and Clotilde and I really hope that very quickly we will be able to announce how this can be made concrete in an even more substantial manner." 

    A spokesman for Daimler declined to comment specifically on Senard’s points.

    “We have had a functioning partnership for 10 years now, and the atmosphere continues to be very positive,” he said.

    In addition to the Smart/Twingo collaboration, key projects have included: 

    • Production of the Mercedes Citan small van, a version of the Renault Kangoo, at Renault's factory in Maubeuge, France, since 2012.
    • A high-efficiency family of turbocharged direct-injection gasoline engines. They debuted in the Renault Scenic crossover and Megane hatchbacks in 2018, and are used in front-wheel-drive Mercedes models such as the A Class. 
    • Mercedes has used Renault's 1.6-liter four-cylinder diesel engines coupled with Renault transmissions in the Vito front-wheel-drive medium van. A 1.5 liter diesel produced by Renault in Valladolid, Spain, has been used in entry-level versions of the Mercedes A- and B-Class models, as well as the CLA and GLA crossovers.
    • The Nissan Navara one-ton pickup was the basis for the Renault Alaskan and Mercedes X-Class, built in Nissan’s factory in Barcelona, which is slated to be closed. Mercedes said at the end of January it would cease selling the model, later booking restructuring charges of 828 million euros as a result.  
    • Daimler architecture was used as a base for the Infiniti Q30 and QX30, both of which were built at Nissan's factory in Sunderland, England, starting in 2015. A jointly owned factory in Aguascalientes, Mexico, makes the Infiniti QX50 crossover and the Mercedes GLB SUV and A-Class sedan, but plans for a co-developed luxury compact car to be built there have been scrapped.
    RECOMMENDED FOR YOU
    VW recasts Seat brand for car sharing and subscription role
    Recommended for You
    Seat/Cupra pillar
    VW recasts Seat brand for car sharing and subscription role
    VW Porsche badges
    VW Group's controlling family to get $425M dividend from Porsche SE
    Peugeot badge
    Peugeot dynasty takes hit from deep slump in auto holdings
    Sign up for free newsletters
    EMAIL ADDRESS

    Please enter a valid email address.

    Please enter your email address.

    Please verify captcha.

    Please select at least one newsletter to subscribe.

    You can unsubscribe at any time through links in these emails. For more information, see our Privacy Policy.

    Get Free Newsletters

    Sign up and get the best of Automotive News Europe delivered straight to your email inbox, free of charge. Choose your news – we will deliver.

    You can unsubscribe at any time through links in these emails. For more information, see our Privacy Policy.

    SUBSCRIBE TODAY

    Get 24/7 access to in-depth, authoritative coverage of the auto industry from a global team of reporters and editors covering the news that’s vital to your business.

    SUBSCRIBE NOW
    Connect with Us
    • Twitter
    • Facebook
    • LinkedIn
    • Instagram

    Founded in 1996, Automotive News Europe is the preferred information source for decision-makers and opinion leaders operating in Europe.

    Contact Us

    1155 Gratiot Avenue
    Detroit MI  48207-2997
    Tel: +1 877-812-1584

    Email Us

    ISSN 2643-6590 (print)
    ISSN 2643-6604 (online)

     

    Resources
    • About us
    • Contact Us
    • Advertise with us
    • Advertise with Us
    • Ad Choices Ad Choices
    • Sitemap
    Awards
    • Rising Stars
    • Eurostars
    • Leading Women
    Legal
    • Terms and Conditions
    • Privacy Policy
    • Privacy Request
    Automotive News Europe
    Copyright © 1996-2023. Crain Communications, Inc. All Rights Reserved.
    • HOME
      • Latest news
      • Automakers
      • Suppliers
      • New Product
      • Environment/Emissions
      • Sales By Market
      • On The Move
      • Auto Shows
        • Munich Auto Show
        • Geneva Auto Show
        • Paris Auto Show
        • Beijing Auto Show
        • Shanghai Auto Show
    • Features
      • Long Read
      • Interview of the Month
      • Focus on Electrification
      • Focus on Technology
      • Segment Analysis
      • Cars & Concepts
      • Supplier Spotlight
      • Europe By The Numbers
    • Opinion
      • Blogs
      • Commentary
      • Guest columnists
    • Photos
      • Photo Galleries
      • Geneva Photo Gallery
      • Beijing Photo Gallery
      • Frankfurt Photo Gallery
      • Paris Photo Gallery
      • Shanghai Photo Gallery
    • Podcasts
    • Car Cutaways
    • EVENTS
      • ANE Congress
      • ANE Rising Stars
      • ANE Eurostars
    • More
      • Publishing Partners
        • Capgemini: All or nothing: Why circular business models require a holistic approach
        • Capgemini: Invent Head on automotive takeaways from CES 2023
        • Capgemini: Securing the industry's future through a radical rethink
        • Capgemini: Succeeding with the automated driving journey through AI
        • Capgemini: The circular economy is spurring new thinking on EV batteries
        • Capgemini: Toyota and Capgemini leaders on how OEMs can handle industry changes and succeed
        • HEXAGON: Plugging into data is the only way to make winning EVs
        • TUV Rheinland: Ideas, services and certifications for smart mobility
        • TUV Rheinland: Testing of automated and autonomous vehicles on test tracks
        • Toyota Europe
        • UFI Filters
      • Social Media
        • Facebook
        • Instagram
        • LinkedIn
        • Twitter
      • Contact Us
      • Media Kit
      • About Us