The Renault-Nissan Alliance and Daimler AG today announced that they would be expanding their strategic co-operation into the pick-up truck segment.
The Mercedes-Benz pickup truck that we first heard of in late March will be based on the Nissan NP300 Navara platform, but engineered by Daimler to meet the specific needs of its customers.
The Mercedes-Benz pickup will target Europe, Australia, South Africa and Latin America. It will have a double-cab body and will target both personal use and commercial customers.
Mercedes-Benz won’t be the only one using the NP300 platform to develop a truck – Nissan’s alliance partner Renault will also introduce its first one-tonne pick-up truck based on the Navara in 2016.
The trio of pick-up trucks will be be built at two sites – we’re talking about 120,000 units a year in Barcelona, Spain for Europe and 70,000 units a year in Cordoba, Argentina for the Americas. The Navara is also built in Thailand, but it looks like the Thai plant won’t built the Renault and Mercedes-Benz versions.
The NP300 Navara was supposed to be a shared platform with the Mitsubishi Triton, but the two companies decided to part ways and develop their trucks independently. It was then announced that the Triton would form the base of a Fiat pick-up truck.
