Chrysler, Nissan Join Up On Small Cars, Pickups

Chrysler LLC and Nissan Motor Co. (NSANY) Monday announced they will join forces to produce small cars and full-size pickup trucks for the U.S. market, a development many in the auto industry had expected after the two had confirmed talks earlier this year.

Under the deal, Nissan will start manufacturing a small car based for Chrysler at a plant in Oppama, Japan, in 2010, the companies said in a joint statement. Chrysler will sell the car in North America, Europe and other markets.

A year later Chrysler will start building a large pickup for Nissan at its truck plant in Saltillo, Mexico, the companies said. The arrangement should help Chrysler make better use of its manufacturing capacity in the U.S. The recent downturn in auto sales and rising gas prices have hurt sales of pickups and sport-utility vehicles, leaving Chrysler with available capacity in its truck plants. It also has one minivan plant outside of St. Louis and two car plants now operating only one shift a day, less than the two shifts considered optimum level in the industry.

Nissan has been trying to gain a foothold in the market for full-size pickups but with little success so far. Sales of its Titan truck and Armada SUV have fallen short of expectations, raising questions within the company about whether it makes sense to continue producing them. The agreement reduced 'the risks for both companies in a very uncertain market and in specific segments,' the companies said in their statement. The deal is sure to spark speculation of whether Chrysler will join forces with Nissan and its alliance partner Renault SA down the road. Carlos Ghosn, the chief executive of both Nissan and Renault has said he'd like the alliance to have a partner in North America.

Neal E. Boudette

 

克莱斯勒(Chrysler LLC)和日产汽车(Nissan Motor Co. Ltd.)周一宣布，双方将合作生产面向美国市场销售的小型汽车和全尺寸皮卡。今年早些时候，两家公司曾证实在进行合作谈判，汽车业也因此普遍预计双方将有合作之举。

双方在联合声明中指出，按照协议的规定，日产将在2010年开始在日本追滨的工厂为克莱斯勒生产一款小型汽车。该车将销往北美、欧洲等市场。

声明指出，一年后，克莱斯勒将开始在墨西哥萨尔提略的卡车制造厂为日产生产一款大型皮卡。此举有望帮助克莱斯勒充分地利用其在美国的产能。最近汽车销售的低迷以及汽油价格的不断上涨使得皮卡和运动型多用途车的销售受到了影响，导致克莱斯勒的卡车制造厂产能过剩。克莱斯勒的两家小汽车制造厂和圣路易斯郊外的一家小型货车制造厂也都每天只上一班，而汽车业的最佳水平应为每天两班。


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日产一直努力试图在全尺寸皮卡市场上占有一席之地，不过至今收效甚微。日产Titan卡车和Armada运动型多用途车的销量均低于预期，公司内部也开始怀疑继续生产是否是明智之举。声明指出，在这样一个非常变幻莫测的市场上，合作使双方在某些细分市场上的风险都有所下降。此项合作交易无疑将引发外界猜测克莱斯勒是否还会与日产及其合作伙伴雷诺公司(Renault SA)有进一步的合作。日产和雷诺的首席执行长卡洛斯•戈恩(Carlos Ghosn)说，他希望能在北美有个合作伙伴。

Neal E. Boudette