Posted on Wednesday 27 February 2008
Nissan and Mitsubishi already have an agreement under which Mitsubishi supplies a range of three-cylinder ‘Kei’ cars to Nissan and in return gets a number of light commercial vehicles. The two carmakers now plan to expand the partnership with Mitsubishi set to supply Nissan with about 4,000 of its Pajero compact SUVs.
The trend of carmakers supplying cars to each other is becoming much more popular, especially with carmakers in China now offering cheap OEM deals. In fact, Chrysler is currently working on a deal to source a new compact car, which it plans to sell in North America as a Dodge. Chrysler also recently signed a deal with Nissan to supply the Versa sedan for sale in South America, and in Japan Nissan buys its minicars from Suzuki as well as Mitsubishi, reports Automotive News.
By sourcing whole cars from outside suppliers, carmakers can fill gaping holes in their lineups without having to spend any money in development costs. It’s something more carmakers will have to investigate as both China and India prepare to flood the market with cheap models.