Nissan and Daimler are working on a 50:50 joint-venture (JV) for Mexican production, according to several business reports. The programme would encompass a manufacturing JV for the production of small, upmarket cars for the Mercedes and Infiniti brands. Reports indicate that the legal framework has been set out, with negotiations ongoing over the last year and a non-binding memorandum of understanding signed last month. The deal is still under discussion as the first documents provide only a framework for constructing future business. Among the options on the table is said to be a co-operation to use a joint vehicle platform to develop and manufacture next-generation, small, front-wheel-drive entries. According to a Wall Street Journal report, the two companies are looking to agree on the main points of co-operation, the vehicles to be made, and production volumes by mid-2014.
Significance: IHS Automotive forecasts that Nissan's Aguascalientes plant, which has the capacity, will add the Infiniti QX50 in 2016, and the Mercedes CLA and GLA, but not until 2018. The plant has three lines, and also builds the Nissan Micra, Note, Sentra and Versa. The seeds of this plan have been growing since 2011, with an Infiniti Q30 also tipped to be built alongside the Mercedes products. it was confirmed in 2011 that Infiniti will use Daimler's MFA platform. Pairing the Mercedes production with the Infiniti product instead of a Nissan product could contribute to heading off potential concerns about a traditional luxury brand being produced on the same line as a traditionally mainstream brand.
