Daimler eyes tie-ups with Nissan in batteries for electric cars+

BEIJING, April 23 Kyodo -
Daimler AG will cooperate with Nissan Motor Co. and Renault SA, with which it
signed a cross-sharing agreement earlier this month, in production of batteries
for electric vehicles, Chairman Dieter Zetsche indicated Friday.
''It's obvious that Renault and Nissan are probably the most committed electric
car players in Europe, and, to some extent, in Japan,'' Zetsche said in a group
interview on the sidelines of the Beijing International Automotive Exhibition.
''We do believe that from a technological point of view, we are very much in
the leading position,'' he said. ''So it makes all sense to look into this
area'' of tie-ups in batteries and motors for electric vehicles.
Daimler has begun production of an electric vehicle version of its Smart
minicar on a trial basis. But as it depends on U.S. electric vehicle maker
Tesla Motors Inc. and others for procurement of batteries, a core component of
electric vehicles, the German automaker has found it difficult to mass-produce
the model.
Daimler plans to introduce an electric Smart minicar in Japan and other parts
of the world in 2012, while also eying manufacturing an electric vehicle
version of smaller types of the Mercedes-Benz brand.
Asked about global recalls involving Toyota Motor Corp. automobiles, Zetsche
showed a calm and cautious response.
''Quality is a matter of managing probabilities, which means that the quality
system has an objective to minimize the likelihood of things like that
happening,'' the chairman said. ''There is no system in the world which could
make the likelihood zero.''
''Therefore, it would not be smart of any manufactures to say something like
this could never happen to me,'' he added.
Zetsche said Daimler plans to sell more than 100,000 vehicles in China in 2010,
up from 72,000 in 2009. That would make China the third biggest market for
Daimler vehicles after Germany and the United States.
==Kyodo
2010-04-23 23:42:43


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