Renault Nissan adds Daimler as an ally.

A title like ‘Alliance Master’ will be befitting for Renault and Nissan’s chief – Carlos Ghosn. He has steered the French-Japanese alliance to join hands with Daimler AG that will cover a wide range of activities – from cooperation on the next- generation Smart Fortwo and Renault Twingo to powertrain sharing and co-development of future passenger cars and light commercial vehicles (LCVs). The partners will have crossholding of a 3.1 percent stake in the companies.

The successor to the current Smart fortwo, a new smart four-seater and the next-gen Twingo will be engineered on the basis of a jointly developed architecture. The co- developed models will hit the roads 2013 onwards. The Smart plant in France will be the production base for the two-seater versions, while Renault's plant in Novo Mesto, Slovenia will produce the four-seater versions. Future co-developed models will have an electric drive option right from day one.

The Renault-Nissan Alliance will provide three- and four-cylinder petrol and diesel engines out of its portfolio to Daimler, for Mercedes-Benz’s future line-up of premium compact cars. In return, Renault-Nissan will use Daimler’s petrol and diesel engines for the Infiniti brand. The partners will also cooperate in the LCV segment. Mercedes-Benz Vans will add an all-new entry-level commercial van, from 2012 onwards, with tech assistance from Renault, apart from sourcing engine and transmissions from its partner for the Vito.

Shared modules and components between Infiniti and Merc vehicles, regional cooperation in the US, China and Japan are other possibilities of the alliance. Electric vehicle technology and batteries also could be part of the partnership later.