Nissan, Renault, Daimler eyeing 3% stakes for capital tie-up+

TOKYO, March 26 Kyodo -
Nissan Motor Co. and French partner Renault SA are in the final stages of
obtaining stakes of around 3 percent in Germany's Daimler AG, with the German
automaker set to take similar stakes in each of the alliance partners, sources
familiar with the matter said Friday.

The three automakers will aim to ink a basic agreement for a tripartite
alliance by early April in a deal that would create the world's third-largest
auto group, the sources said.
By keeping the investment ratio low, the Renault-Nissan group, which already
has capital ties, and Daimler intend to maintain a free hand in their own
management.
At the same time, they will cooperate in areas of mutual benefit such as joint
procurement of materials and environmental technologies, including electric
vehicles, to weather intensifying competition in the global auto industry.
Nissan President Carlos Ghosn, who concurrently serves as president and chief
executive officer of Renault, held a meeting on Thursday with other management
executives to explain how the capital tie-up talks are progressing.
The three companies are expected to reach a conclusion before Daimler holds a
shareholders meeting on April 14, the sources said.
Daimler hopes to team up with Renault-Nissan to tap into their competitive edge
in fuel-efficient, small-sized cars, which will be pivotal in expanding sales
in rapidly growing emerging markets, and to meet tough environmental
regulations in Europe to cut carbon dioxide emissions.
Sources said earlier that if the deal goes through, Nissan, which is owned 44.3
percent by Renault, will consider supplying Daimler with the new Micra, a
global subcompact which it began manufacturing in Thailand earlier this month.
Renault and Nissan are considering procuring V8 gasoline engines and
large-displacement diesel engines from Daimler to save development costs.
Cost reductions are essential for Japan's third-largest automaker, which plans
to launch its Leaf electric car later this year and will need massive financial
resources to further develop green technology.
But uncertainty remains over whether the deal will be finalized with some
officials questioning whether the three automakers will be able to effectively
generate synergies with the slim anticipated investment ratio.
And while Ghosn has been open to expanding the Renault-Nissan partnership, some
believe Daimler Chairman Dieter Zetsche is cautious about a capital tie-up
particularly in view of the automaker's past failures in alliances, including
with Chrysler Group LLC.
''It would be positive to supply parts and cooperate on technology, but there
is not much point to a capital alliance,'' a senior Nissan official said.
The combined global sales of the three automakers in 2009 totaled about 7.64
million units, trailing behind the 8.62 million units sold by Germany's
Volkswagen AG and Japan's Suzuki Motor Corp. -- which recently agreed on a
capital tie-up -- and the 7.81 million vehicles sold by the Toyota Motor Corp.
group in the same year.
==Kyodo
2010-03-27 01:44:04


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