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.