Daimler and Renault are studying the joint production of another van

The alliance between Daimler and Renault-Nissan continues to look for ways to expand. The products that offer the most avenues for this are, logically, passenger cars. But other collaborations have already shown that commercial models can also strengthen an industrial partnership. Both parties to this union are considering expanding the one they already have with a new product.

A Daimler spokesperson, Uta Leitner, and a spokesperson for Renault, Raluca Barb, have confirmed that both manufacturers are studying the possibility of jointly developing a large van. The idea is still at a very early stage, and the plant that would take on the production of this new model has not yet been determined.

However, the French daily La Tribune stated that Renault would lend one of its factories to Mercedes-Benz. These talks have arisen because the production agreement Daimler has with Volkswagen to share the platform of the Mercedes-Benz Sprinter with the Volkswagen Crafter is nearing its end.

This will expire in 2016, and since the Wolfsburg company has stated that it will produce the new Crafter independently, the Stuttgart firm needs a new partner to share the development costs of the Sprinter’s replacement. Daimler and Renault already have another van built on a shared platform, the Mercedes-Benz Citan, which uses the platform of the Kangoo. However, Daimler should learn from the poor result this model had in the Euro NCAP so as not to repeat it in the next van.

Source | Automotive News