Daimler Looks To Abandon Renault-Nissan Alliance Partnership

There are some who feel that this move is unprecedented, but the older (and wiser) among you may remember that numerous manufacturers have partnered with each other over the last few decades as and when there's mutual benefit, only to part ways after as if they had no relations prior. According to MercedesBlog, Daimler is looking to abandon their partnership with the Renault-Nissan Alliance once their ongoing joint projects come to a close.

The terms of the partnership were largely technical, with shared engines (the 1.33-litre four-cylinder engine in the Mercedes-Benz A200 and similar cars), as well as the Mercedes-Benz Citan and the most recent Smart models. Some of these items are even produced in Renault factories, which raises questions as to whether the standards will be maintained with the knowledge that Daimler wishes to pull out after.

But if there is one important lesson to take away from all this, it's that we are finally witnessing the hidden cost of this rapid push for electrification in order to meet the ridiculously tough targets that the European Union (among other parts of the world) have set for fleet emissions and to avoid penalties. The severing of this partnership is only one of many moves that Ola Källenius plans to make in the coming months and years, as he is poised to take control of Daimler by the end of May.

His plan to cut costs by 6 billion Euros in Mercedes-Benz and 2 billion Euros in their trucks division will come at the expense of around 10,000 employees, who will be let go in order to streamline and run a leaner operation. Operating profit in the last quarter of 2018 fell by a whopping 22%, courtesy of the aforementioned push for electric car development and production facilities. Suffice to say, Daimler will not be the only major automotive player making some tough calls as belts have to be tightened in the face of higher future expenditure.