Chrysler and Nissan join forces

It’s a Nissan, but not as you know it. The model pictured on the right is the Japanese firm’s South American market Versa – and US giant Chrysler wants to develop a supermini using a rebadged evolution of this machine. While it’s yet to be confirmed whether this will come here, Auto Express can reveal it spells the end of Chrysler’s project to join forces with Chinese brand Chery.

The plan had been to launch and build the acclaimed Hornet – revealed as a concept car last year. But now, it looks extremely unlikely that the super­mini will reach production. Accor­ding to Chrysler, Chery is not ready to take on the job because it doesn’t have the necessary expertise, and so has been abandoned as a potential partner. But top brass have not ruled out further joint ventures. At the New York Motor Show in March, Chrysler is expected to announce a deal with VW for the rights to rebadge a supermini-MPV.

This bold move is meant to help the American group meet its ambitious target of launching 12 new vehi­cles this year – these comprise three Chryslers, plus models from Jeep and Dodge. Yet the process of simply buying and rebadging other brands’ cars to extend its product line-up is being viewed with caution by some industry experts. Analysts say there is no way of doing this profitably, assuming Chrysler wants the price of its cars to remain competitive.