Because of the ongoing turmoil in the industry, Nissan Motor and Chrysler have scrapped a plan to supply vehicles to each other, the two companies said.
Nissan had announced last year it would provide to Chrysler a compact sedan for the South American market beginning this year and a small vehicle for global markets from 2010.
Chrysler, which has since partnered with Italy's Fiat as part of its bankruptcy plan, had been due to supply a pickup truck to Nissan from 2011.
But the two companies decided to end the project "in light of significant changes in business conditions since the projects were announced," according to a joint statement released on August 26.
The move comes after Chrysler and Fiat sealed a deal in June to create a new auto giant after the Italian maker stepped in to salvage the bankrupt U.S. firm. Fiat will at first hold 20% of Chrysler Group, with its equity stake rising to 35% and eventually to a majority stake as long as certain targets are achieved and U.S. government funds are repaid.
Nissan, Japan's third largest automaker, is 44% owned by France's Renault. The Japanese maker is axing 20,000 jobs in an effort to recover from its first annual loss in almost a decade.
Copyright Agence France-Presse, 2009
