Nissan Motor is considering buying V8 petrol engines and large-displacement diesels from Daimler, sources familiar with the matter told Japanese media on Tuesday.
The procurement appears to have the aim of facilitating a proposed cross-shareholding capital tie-up between Daimler and Renault, which owns more than 44% of Nissan, the sources told Kyodo News.
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The procurement would enable Nissan to cut back on development costs for such engines, while allowing Daimler to squeeze costs through improved economy of scale, they said.
Nissan president Carlos Ghosn, who concurrently serves as president and chief executive officer of the French carmaker, appears set to call a meeting of Nissan’s top managers shortly to explain the aims of the proposed Renault-Daimler tie-up and the current state of the tie-up talks, they said.
Nissan, Renault and Daimler are also discussing possible cooperation in the development of eco-cars, including electric vehicles, while mulling joint procurement of auto parts and materials, they said.
Renault and Daimler are reportedly eyeing mutually holding equity stakes of less than 10 percent in each other.
But Daimler appears to be cautious on entering such a capital tie-up, they added.
Nissan declined to comment on the report.
