Daimler, Renault-Nissan See 'No Taboos' in Cooperation

FRANKFURT -- Daimler (IW 1000/18) and Renault-Nissan (IW 1000/80) said Wednesday they plan to deepen their existing cooperation and there would be no "no-go" areas in their partnership.

"While our initial collaboration was strongly focused on European projects, we're now concentrating on synergies in all markets," Renault-Nissan chief Carlos Goshn told a news conference on the sidelines of the IAA auto show opening this week.

"If it makes sense for us to work together then we will. There are no taboos for us," Goshn said, without providing any details about possible future areas of cooperation.

Daimler chief executive Dieter Zetsch similarly said the two automakers would "continue to look for new joint projects where they make sense for both partners and, more importantly, for our customers."

The ties linking the two groups date back to April 2010, but have strengthened since and currently cover 10 different projects, from the construction of a joint engine plant in the United States to the co-development of future Smart and Twingo models.

The cooperation, which includes a cross-shareholding of 3.1% between the two groups, aims to generate cost-savings of 2.0 billion euros by 2016.

Copyright Agence France-Presse, 2013