Nissan and Chrysler Enter OEM Exchange Deal

Earlier this year, Nissan and Chrysler collaboratively made an
announcement that will see Chrysler featuring a badge-engineered
version of a Nissan Versa in South America. This partnership is
expected to bloom in the coming months, as the Japanese and American
brands have just signed a new contract that involves sharing two
additional vehicles.

Described
as an “OEM Exchange”, which involves brands swapping models, much like
what occurred earlier this year between Suzuki and Nissan, which saw
Suzuki gain the Equator, a rebadged version of the Nissan Frontier.
Chrysler is poised to receive a new small vehicle which is not based on
the Nissan Versa, for sale in North America and Europe under the
Chrysler umbrella. This would do Chrysler a lot of good as the smallest
car it currently sells is the Dodge Caliber, a C-Segment vehicle.
Little is known about the project other than that the Chrysler will
feature sheet metal designed by the domestic automaker.

The
big surprise is what Nissan is getting in return from Chrysler.
Nissan’s Titan has been a hot topic for the Japanese brand; with sales
of the full-size pickup truck market and the Titan sliding, the
cancellation of the project seemed quite probable. Now, it appears
inevitable as Nissan will get a version of the full-size Dodge Ram
pickup with distinctive styling, built at the Satillo, Mexico plant.
Nissan did not confirm whether or not it would be called the Titan, but
that sales would begin in 2011.

This also
opens the door to a whole host of other questions, such as whether
Nissan will receive a clean, light-duty diesel engine, the 2 Mode
Hybrid drivetrain technology, or even a heavy duty version.