... or is it the foundation stone for a future disaster? I'm pretty sure of the former, but I'd like to think that I'm doing more than just giving a factoid opinion about it. I'm sure many of you remember the other "heavenly match", made between Daimler-Benz and Chrysler about twelve years ago. Jürgen E. Schrempp, the guy responsible for the DC blow had made the mistake of announcing a "match made in heaven" between the two companies, a match which inherently ended in disaster about nine years later.
To better understand why that "marriage" collapsed like a house of cards and why I think that the Daimler-Renault-Nissan alliance will thrive we should of course look at the gigantic differences between the two "get-togethers". First of all, the Daimler-Chrysler was a so-called "merger of equals". Technically, it was a wrongly thought-out buyout, while the integration dreamed by Jürgen Schrempp failed miserably mainly because there was insufficient cohesion, or should I say "bonding", between Daimler and Chrysler at a technical level.
Just to give a few examples, the only platform sharing between the two companies resulted in the Chrysler LX platform - which uses the control arm front suspension from the W220 S-Klasse, the multi-link rear-suspension from the W210 E-Klasse (though made of steel instead of aluminium), the old Mercedes 5G-Tronic automatic transmission, rear differential and electronic stuff like the ESP system – and the Chrysler ZH, which is 59% identical to the R170 SLK and was only used on the ill-fated Chrysler Crossfire.
Apart from those two "shared" platforms and a Mercedes diesel engine used in various Chrysler, Dodge and Jeep models in Europe, there was simply no hint whatsoever that these were all brands belonging to the same company. Which kind of makes you think why they were together in the first place. Plus, look at them now. Chrysler just went through a Chapter 11 bankruptcy while some analysts estimate that Daimler lost tens of billions of dollars during the course of this "merger", money which could have been invested in making better Mercedes cars instead of the POS (quality-wise) vehicles they did between circa 2000 and 2005.
On the other hand, the recently-signed Daimler-Renault-Nissan cooperation is based on totally different pretexts. Technically, the Germans mostly want to make the smart brand truly profitable, while the French/Japanese have more "expansionist" reasons, mainly for the Infiniti brand. Apart from that, it has nothing to do with a "merger of equals" or a buyout, since it's technically a strategic alliance.
In my opinion, this alliance looks more like a version of a Japanese keiretsu, with the exception that there's no central bank involved and its raison d'etre isn't to prevent hostile takeovers and the likes but plainly to jointly reduce costs. It's not even the same kind of alliance that (happily) exists between Renault and Nissan.
Plus, the contract signed by Dieter Zetsche and Carlos Ghosn wasn't written in blood or anything, and if anything goes wrong with either of the companies, it will happen independently from one other, without influencing it in such a great manner.
I know for sure that there are some automotive "analysts" out there who fear that this alliance will dilute the Daimler and/or Mercedes-Benz brands. Are you serious? If this means "brand dilution" for Mercedes then what is the A-Klasse? Better yet, I wonder, what is it like for a guy being chauffeured in a long-wheelbase S-Klasse to pass a Citaro wearing the same tri-star badge while it's filled with "common people"?
There's no such thing as brand dilution at this level, especially since it's not like a future Maybach will use a stretched Renault Laguna (or Dacia Logan? It has the same "parents") platform. I mean, just look at the stuff being shared between the two/three.
We're talking about the smart cars - which aren't even worthy of wearing the Mercedes-Benz star (they used to, though) - being built on the same platform with the Renault Twingo. We're talking about a small Mercedes-Benz van (as in "it hauls goods") to actually be a restyled Renault Kangoo. We're also talking about Mercedes delivering gasoline and diesel engines to Infiniti in exchange for some small engines from Renault to be used on the smarts. Which of these will actually dilute the Mercedes-Benz brand, and in what way exactly? Don't forget that the current smart fortwo's gasoline engines are made by Mitsubishi, isn't that also brand diluting?
Everybody's a winner in my book. Mercedes gets broader access to electric charging stations for their future electric models, the smart car brand resumes its interrupted evolution/expansion and starts to actually be profitable, Renault shares at least two platforms with Mercedes-Benz (how cool is that for a French brand?) and Infiniti gets a much bigger slice of the European market by extending their engine range and improving their CO2 emissions.
And if this isn't enough to convince everyone that this threesome is going to be successful, just look at the people who are leading the three companies. It's Dieter Zetsche, the man who spun Chrysler around (for a while, at least), brought back quality at Mercedes-Benz and separated the ailing DaimlerChrysler corporation. Also, he has a cool mustache.
Carlos Ghosn needs no description, since his fame precedes him. He brought Nissan back from the dead in the early 2000s and is currently on the verge of taking Renault to new all-time heights in terms of expansion. Never mind the fact that he's also a friggin' manga comic book character in Japan. I kid you not.
In case something does go wrong in the future, there's only a symbolic 3.1 percent of shares swap between the three, so it can all end without any collateral damage. But as I already mentioned, I don't think anything can go wrong, except maybe a sudden increase in ego with either Zetsche or Ghosn to terminate the whole shindig. What do you think about this partnership, will it glow or will it blow?
To better understand why that "marriage" collapsed like a house of cards and why I think that the Daimler-Renault-Nissan alliance will thrive we should of course look at the gigantic differences between the two "get-togethers". First of all, the Daimler-Chrysler was a so-called "merger of equals". Technically, it was a wrongly thought-out buyout, while the integration dreamed by Jürgen Schrempp failed miserably mainly because there was insufficient cohesion, or should I say "bonding", between Daimler and Chrysler at a technical level.
Just to give a few examples, the only platform sharing between the two companies resulted in the Chrysler LX platform - which uses the control arm front suspension from the W220 S-Klasse, the multi-link rear-suspension from the W210 E-Klasse (though made of steel instead of aluminium), the old Mercedes 5G-Tronic automatic transmission, rear differential and electronic stuff like the ESP system – and the Chrysler ZH, which is 59% identical to the R170 SLK and was only used on the ill-fated Chrysler Crossfire.
Apart from those two "shared" platforms and a Mercedes diesel engine used in various Chrysler, Dodge and Jeep models in Europe, there was simply no hint whatsoever that these were all brands belonging to the same company. Which kind of makes you think why they were together in the first place. Plus, look at them now. Chrysler just went through a Chapter 11 bankruptcy while some analysts estimate that Daimler lost tens of billions of dollars during the course of this "merger", money which could have been invested in making better Mercedes cars instead of the POS (quality-wise) vehicles they did between circa 2000 and 2005.
On the other hand, the recently-signed Daimler-Renault-Nissan cooperation is based on totally different pretexts. Technically, the Germans mostly want to make the smart brand truly profitable, while the French/Japanese have more "expansionist" reasons, mainly for the Infiniti brand. Apart from that, it has nothing to do with a "merger of equals" or a buyout, since it's technically a strategic alliance.
In my opinion, this alliance looks more like a version of a Japanese keiretsu, with the exception that there's no central bank involved and its raison d'etre isn't to prevent hostile takeovers and the likes but plainly to jointly reduce costs. It's not even the same kind of alliance that (happily) exists between Renault and Nissan.
Plus, the contract signed by Dieter Zetsche and Carlos Ghosn wasn't written in blood or anything, and if anything goes wrong with either of the companies, it will happen independently from one other, without influencing it in such a great manner.
I know for sure that there are some automotive "analysts" out there who fear that this alliance will dilute the Daimler and/or Mercedes-Benz brands. Are you serious? If this means "brand dilution" for Mercedes then what is the A-Klasse? Better yet, I wonder, what is it like for a guy being chauffeured in a long-wheelbase S-Klasse to pass a Citaro wearing the same tri-star badge while it's filled with "common people"?
There's no such thing as brand dilution at this level, especially since it's not like a future Maybach will use a stretched Renault Laguna (or Dacia Logan? It has the same "parents") platform. I mean, just look at the stuff being shared between the two/three.
We're talking about the smart cars - which aren't even worthy of wearing the Mercedes-Benz star (they used to, though) - being built on the same platform with the Renault Twingo. We're talking about a small Mercedes-Benz van (as in "it hauls goods") to actually be a restyled Renault Kangoo. We're also talking about Mercedes delivering gasoline and diesel engines to Infiniti in exchange for some small engines from Renault to be used on the smarts. Which of these will actually dilute the Mercedes-Benz brand, and in what way exactly? Don't forget that the current smart fortwo's gasoline engines are made by Mitsubishi, isn't that also brand diluting?
Everybody's a winner in my book. Mercedes gets broader access to electric charging stations for their future electric models, the smart car brand resumes its interrupted evolution/expansion and starts to actually be profitable, Renault shares at least two platforms with Mercedes-Benz (how cool is that for a French brand?) and Infiniti gets a much bigger slice of the European market by extending their engine range and improving their CO2 emissions.
And if this isn't enough to convince everyone that this threesome is going to be successful, just look at the people who are leading the three companies. It's Dieter Zetsche, the man who spun Chrysler around (for a while, at least), brought back quality at Mercedes-Benz and separated the ailing DaimlerChrysler corporation. Also, he has a cool mustache.
Carlos Ghosn needs no description, since his fame precedes him. He brought Nissan back from the dead in the early 2000s and is currently on the verge of taking Renault to new all-time heights in terms of expansion. Never mind the fact that he's also a friggin' manga comic book character in Japan. I kid you not.
In case something does go wrong in the future, there's only a symbolic 3.1 percent of shares swap between the three, so it can all end without any collateral damage. But as I already mentioned, I don't think anything can go wrong, except maybe a sudden increase in ego with either Zetsche or Ghosn to terminate the whole shindig. What do you think about this partnership, will it glow or will it blow?
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