Nissan Companies, DaimlerChrysler Call Off Truck Deal

TOKYO: Nissan Motor Co. Ltd., Nissan Diesel Motor Co. Ltd., and DaimlerChrysler AG have dissolved their joint truck development accord that the three companies had basically agreed to in July 1998, a Nissan Diesel spokeswoman said May 12. "The deal has been dissolved. A vehicle joint development can't be continued without a capital tie-up," the spokeswoman said without elaborating. Under the Nissan-DaimlerChrysler deal, the three companies had planned to jointly develop trucks and planned to begin production and sale of the trucks around 2002. Nissan group will begin discussions with French automaker Renault in the field of trucks in the future, a Nissan spokesman said. Nissan, Japan's No. 2 automaker, and Renault signed a tie-up agreement in late March allowing Renault to acquire a 36.8% stake in Nissan and a 22.5% stake in Nissan Diesel.