Cooperation of Daimler and Renault-Nissan Alliance accelerates, strengthens in 2015
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Original project portfolio has more than quadrupled to 13 projects on three continents

Significant 2015 milestones include groundbreaking of joint assembly plant in Mexico, expansion of cooperation portfolio into pickup trucks

INFINITI Q30 production starts later this year; car on display at Frankfurt International Motor Show

EV versions of new smart fortwo and forfour to be powered by Renault electric motors

FRANKFURT – The partnership between the Renault-Nissan Alliance and Daimler AG accelerated and strengthened as it entered its sixth year in 2015, the companies' leaders said today in their annual media update during the Frankfurt International Motor Show.

Carlos Ghosn, Chairman and CEO of the Alliance, described the partnership as "one of the most productive in the auto industry."

"It has accelerated the time-to-market for vehicle launches and has been an obvious strategic advantage for each partner," said Ghosn. "We look forward to its continued growth, with more joint projects in the future."

Dieter Zetsche, Chairman of the Board of Management of Daimler and Head of Mercedes-Benz Cars, agreed.

"Since the start of our cooperation in 2010, our joint projects have created value for our customers worldwide," said Zetsche. "This year we further deepened the collaboration and announced two completely new projects. We cooperate when it is mutually beneficial. And that is the way we will keep it."

Major milestones so far in 2015 include:

Groundbreaking of a jointly owned assembly plant in Aguascalientes, Mexico

Nissan and Daimler recently broke ground on the U.S. $1 billion Aguascalientes plant, which will produce next-generation premium compact vehicles for INFINITI from 2017, and Mercedes-Benz starting in 2018. Nissan and Daimler will co-develop the vehicles. The plant is expected to produce more than 230,000 cars a year by 2020. They will also be produced at other Daimler and Nissan plants in Europe and China. The joint assembly plant is located next to the Nissan plant in Aguascalientes.

Related Story: Daimler and Renault-Nissan Alliance break ground for new joint venture plant in Mexico

Development of a 1-ton pickup truck for Mercedes-Benz

Earlier this year, Daimler and Nissan announced development of the first Mercedes-Benz entry into the pickup segment. The new pickup will share some of its architecture with the all-new Nissan NP300, but will be engineered and designed by Daimler to meet the specific needs of its customers in Europe, Australia, South Africa and Latin America. The vehicle will have all of Mercedes Benz' distinctive characteristics and features. The truck will be built by Nissan in the Renault plant in Cordoba, Argentina, along with the Nissan NP300 and a Renault 1-ton truck, for Latin America. The three trucks will also be built at the Nissan Barcelona plant in Spain. Production of the Mercedes-Benz truck at both plants will start before the end of the decade.

Launch of the INFINITI Q30

This premium active compact shares components of Daimler's compact-car architecture but was engineered and designed by INFINITI from scratch to meet the specific needs of its customers. The car made its public debut at the Frankfurt show. Production will begin at Nissan's Sunderland plant in the UK later this year.

Related Story: INFINITI Q30: A new type of premium compact car

EV versions of the new smart fortwo and forfour

These all-new city cars have been on the market for nearly a year; they and the Renault Twingo were the first vehicles built on a common platform between Daimler and the Alliance. Customer reaction on all three models has been highly positive. As announced by the two executives, EV versions of the smart fortwo and forfour will go on sale in late 2016. Both vehicles will be fitted with an electric motor produced by Renault's Cléon plant in France, the same one used in the Renault ZOE. The battery of the new smart electric drive will be produced by the Daimler subsidiary, "Deutsche ACCUmotive," in Kamenz, Germany.

When the Daimler-Alliance partnership was launched in April 2010, the scope of the original collaboration was limited to three projects, primarily in Europe. Since then, the combined portfolio shared between the partners has more than quadrupled to 13 projects in Europe, Asia and the Americas.

Daimler at a Glance

Daimler AG is one of the world's most successful automotive companies. With its divisions Mercedes-Benz Cars, Daimler Trucks, Mercedes-Benz Vans, Daimler Buses and Daimler Financial Services, the Daimler Group is one of the biggest producers of premium cars and the world's biggest manufacturer of commercial vehicles with a global reach. Daimler Financial Services provides financing, leasing, fleet management, insurance, financial investments, credit cards, and innovative mobility services.

The company's founders, Gottlieb Daimler and Carl Benz, made history with the invention of the automobile in the year 1886. As a pioneer of automotive engineering, Daimler continues to shape the future of mobility today:

The Group's focus is on innovative and green technologies as well as on safe and superior automobiles that appeal to and fascinate. Daimler consequently invests in the development of alternative drive trains with the long-term goal of emission-free driving: from hybrid vehicles to electric vehicles powered by battery or fuel cell.

Furthermore, the company follows a consistent path towards accident-free driving and intelligent connectivity all the way to autonomous driving. This is just one example of how Daimler willingly accepts the challenge of meeting its responsibility towards society and the environment.

Daimler sells its vehicles and services in nearly all the countries of the world and has production facilities in Europe, North and South America, Asia, and Africa.

Its current brand portfolio includes, in addition to the world's most valuable premium automotive brand, Mercedes-Benz, as well as Mercedes-AMG and Mercedes-Maybach, the brands smart, Freightliner, Western Star, BharatBenz, FUSO, Setra and Thomas Built Buses, and Daimler Financial Services' brands: Mercedes-Benz Bank, Mercedes-Benz Financial, Daimler Truck Financial, moovel and car2go. The company is listed on the stock exchanges of Frankfurt and Stuttgart (stock exchange symbol DAI). In 2014, the Group sold more than 2.5 million vehicles and employed a workforce of 279,972 people; revenue totaled €129.9 billion and EBIT amounted to €10.8 billion.

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About the Renault-Nissan Alliance

The Renault-Nissan Alliance is a strategic partnership between Paris-based Renault and Yokohama, Japan-based Nissan, which together sell one in 10 cars worldwide. The companies, which have been strategic partners since 1999, sold 8.5 million vehicles in nearly 200 countries in 2014. The Alliance operates strategic collaborations with other automakers including Germany's Daimler, Japan's Mitsubishi, China's Dongfeng, and India's Ashok Leyland. It also has a majority stake in the joint venture that owns AVTOVAZ, Russia's largest automaker.

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Contact

Jörg Howe, Daimler AG

Phone: +49 711 17 41341

joerg.howe@daimler.com