on September 28, 2012. The perfect opportunity to look back at accomplishments and announce partnership on fuel-efficient engines and transmissions.
During their yearly meeting, Daimler and the Renault-Nissan Alliance announced two new projects to accelerate development of fuel-efficient powertrains.
The first project, is a jointly developed 4-cylinder gasoline engine family co-led by Renault and Daimler. The direct-injection turbocharged engine will feature state-of-the-art technology in a compact package. It targets low emissions as well as a significant improvement in fuel economy. The companies expect to jointly manufacture the new engines. They will debut in Daimler, Renault and Nissan vehicles in 2016.
In the second project, a new transmission project, Daimler grants Nissan a license to manufacture automatic transmission using Daimler's latest transmission technology for Nissan and Infiniti vehicles starting in 2016.
Nissan subsidiary Jatco is planning to manufacture these newly licensed gearboxes in Mexico. The new transmission will feature "start and stop" and "park and shift by wire” technologies.
Ghosn and Zetsche confirmed that all the original “pillar projects” announced in 2010 have been accomplished or are on track. The companies are also moving forward with advanced research on fuel-cell vehicle powertrains, and they are working on a cross-supply program for battery and powertrain components of zero-emission versions of their small cars.