According to Bloomberg News, Patrick Pelata, chief operating officer of Renault Motors, France's second-largest automaker, said on December 17th local time that Daimler is a potential partner of Renault Group to share automotive technology to reduce costs. Patrick Pelata said that Renault is currently in formal negotiations with Daimler Group on cooperation issues, but we are also negotiating with other potential partners.
On the same day, Daimler CEO Dieter Zetsche also revealed during an interview in Berlin, Germany that Renault was one of several “potential partners†for Daimler’s ongoing negotiations to develop a compact car project. Daimler’s The negotiation of these potential partners went smoothly.
At 1:30 pm local time on December 17 in Frankfurt, Renault shares fell 48 points to 35.47 euros, while Daimler shares fell 46 points to 36.67 euros.
Does Daimler need more than Renault?
According to analyst Max Warburton of London's Sanford C. Bernstein, "I think Daimler needs more than Renault. If I were Renault, I would ask Daimler for money because I was better at 'low cost'. Daimler does not have this advantage. If Daimler puts a Mercedes-Benz engine in a small car, the car may perform well, but the cost will not fall."
Daimler is eager to find a partner
On December 14th, Daimler, the world's second-largest luxury car manufacturer, said that it will look for partners next year to develop its Smart Smart car brand, the Mercedes-Benz B-Class, and Other compact models.
With the continuous increase in demand for small cars worldwide, many OEMs are looking for partners to reduce R&D costs and increase market share. BMW, the world’s largest luxury car manufacturer, is cooperating with PSA to develop a small engine. In addition, BMW and Brilliance Automotive have also established joint ventures in China. The Volkswagen Group is not to be outdone. It announced last week that it purchased a 19.9% ​​stake in Suzuki Motors for US$2.5 billion to share Suzuki's small-car technology. At the same time, PSA is currently preparing to acquire shares of Mitsubishi Motors in Japan.