With DaimlerChrysler agreeing to build engines with Hyundai in the future, does that mean your new Mercedes-Benz could soon be featuring a special Hyundai engine?
With DaimlerChrysler agreeing to build engines with Hyundai in the future, does that mean your new Mercedes-Benz could soon be featuring a special Hyundai engine?
CARtoday.com reported on DaimlerChrysler AG signed a joint venture agreement at the weekend to design and develop car engines with Japanese partner Mitsubishi and South Korea’s Hyundai Motor.
The move is seen as an effort by DaimlerChrysler, the world’s fifth biggest manufacturer, to extend its global reach to cut costs and improve profitability. The three companies will hold equal stakes in the joint venture, to be called “Global Engine Alliance”, which is scheduled for launch in the United States in early May.
But Mercedes-Benz will not be part of the deal. DaimlerChrysler said it was not interested in sharing its premium-brand models with Hyundai Motor and other global alliance partners.
“The aluminum mid-sized engines with displacements of 1,8, 2,0 and 2,4 litres in the range of 89 to 123 kW, which will be jointly designed and developed with Hyundai and Mitsubishi, are not suitable for the Benz brand cars,” said Hartmut Schick, a DaimlerChrysler vice president in charge of public relations.
“DaimlerChrysler has no intention of teaming up with Hyundai or Mitsubishi in the premium-vehicle engine segment, let alone platform sharing,” said Schick. The engines will be used in Chrysler cars.
Schick also said that DaimlerChrysler would be deciding soon whether to buy an additional five per cent stake in Hyundai. It already has a 10,46 per cent stake in the Korean company.
