Chrysler and Nissan announced yesterday that the companies are teaming up to share products. Chrysler LLC President and Vice Chairman Tom LaSorda calls it a “tactical partnership," adding that it "builds on the Company’s inherent strengths."
It's not the first time we've seen this sort of cooperation — an American automaker and a Japanese automaker teaming up to build cars. It's not even the first time we've seen Chrysler do it (recall the roughly 2.8 million cars built under the Chrysler-Mitsubishi Diamond-Star Motors cooperation). But unlike other such arrangements, this one includes no plans for the companies to purchase equity stakes in each other.
Under the agreement, Chrysler will build for Nissan a full-size light-duty pickup for 2011 (probably derived from the new 2009 Ram 1500, pictured here, and intended to replace the aging Titan), and Nissan will build for Chrysler a Versa-based small car for the South American market starting next year.
Moreover, the deal has Nissan building for Chrysler a brand-new small car for its global markets (North America included) for 2010, probably based on the forthcoming Cube (pictured above right) and intended to fill the void left by the departed Neon.
