The partnership began in April 2012 , with three ‘pillar projects’ primarily focused on Europe, but has now expanded to cover 10 significant projects in markets ranging from North America to Japan.

‘While our initial collaboration focused strongly on European projects, we are now focusing on synergies in all key markets’, said Renault-Nissan chairman and CEO Carlos Ghosn. ‘The largest economies of scale are always global.’

‘We will continue to seek out new projects together that make sense for all partners and, most importantly, our customers,’ added Daimler CEO Dieter Zetsche.

Examples of the partnership include the joint production of Mercedes-Benz four-cylinder gasoline engines in Decherd, Tennessee, USA. Factory building is now complete, with the start of production planned for mid-2014. The engines will then be used in the Mercedes-Benz C-Class and new Infiniti products.

The firms say that joint development work is also proceeding on schedule for a new family of shared three and four-cylinder gasoline engines with turbocharging and direct fuel injection. The engines will make use of the latest technology and will have significantly improved fuel consumption.

Another example of the carmakers’ cooperation on engine development is the new Infiniti Q50, which will be available as of the autumn and features a powertrain comprising a diesel engine and automatic transmission from the cooperation with Daimler.

The first vehicles resulting from the collaboration, including the Mercedes-Benz Citan van, are already on the road. Meanwhile, Infiniti’s Q30 concept, unveiled at Frankfurt, previews the new Q30, which will be underpinned by the Mercedes MFA platform used for the A-Class and B-Class, with powertrains also being sourced from Mercedes.

For the commercial vehicle segment, Nissan is to supply Daimler with the NV350 Urvan to be sold under its Mitsubishi Fuso brand in selected export markets.

The firms add that the smart/Twingo project is also progressing as planned. Production will begin soon on the new two-seater smart at the smart plant in Hambach, France, and of the four-seater smart and the Renault Twingo successor model at the Renault plant in Novo Mesto, Slovenia.