Not much small car expertise at Daimler since Mitsubishi's departure.
Daimler AG chief executive officer Dieter Zetsche said that the German automaker is holding talks with the French automaker Renault about collaborating on some future products and hoped to wrap up the discussions during the first half of 2010.
“We are in discussions with Renault about some cooperation,” he said. “The discussions are very straightforward,” he said.
Zetsche, however, declined to say whether the discussions centered specifically on enlisting Renault’s help to renew or expand the smart brand’s current lineup, which is now built around one model that first appeared in 1998.
However, earlier during the roundtable discussion with reporters, Zetsche said he had also acknowledged that Daimler was looking for a partner to help with smart.
“We are in discussions with specific partners, I am relatively confident will have a strategic plan for smart completed during the first half of 2010,” said Zetsche, added during a roundtable discussion with reporters. “That’s as far as I want to go,” he said.
Zetsche also told reporters that right now Mercedes is a leader in the C-class, E-Class and S-Class segments with superior engineering. However, it does not have the kind of small-car expertise in house that Audi enjoys because of its links to Volkswagen, giving it an an edge, which is one of the reasons why Mercedes-Benz is looking for a partner to help with the small car development.
Zetsche also said he would not rule out collaborating with a Japanese automaker such as Renault’s partner Nissan. However, he seemed to rule out some kind of broader partnership with an Asian carmaker. “We’ve already done that, he said referring to Daimler’s investment in Mitsubishi, which was eventually abandoned.
Zetsche also said that he was not pushing for any kind of changes at Maybach, Mercedes-Benz ultra luxury brand, which has quite lived up to the company’s expectations. “It doesn’t seem to matter whether we sell 100 more or 100 less,” he said.
Overall, Daimler is well positioned for a solid comeback in 2010 and is well positioned to expand its market share in the U.S.