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Nissan and Stellantis Are in Talks

patfromigh

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Welcome back to those (3-headed) dog days of that post Daimler entity known as Chrysler LLC. It was that brief time period between Daimler kicking a looted Chrysler to the curb and Sergio stepping into Auburn Hills, when a leveraged buyout company was looking to strip and flip the old Chrysler Corp. Daimler had already started the ball rolling by engaging in talks with Nissan, in exchange for a midsize sedan based on the Nissan Altima, while Nissan would receive a pickup based on the Ram 1500. A huge manufacturing facility was built in Dundee, Michigan to produce the World engine series for Chrysler Group, Nissan, Mitsubishi, and Hyundai/Kia. A Jatco CVT built in Mexico would be combined with those World 4 engines in small Dodges and Jeeps built in. Belevidere, IL, as well as a few Mitsubishi products. Nissan would continue to use their own engines.

It all came apart. Half of the Dundee engine facility sat empty as the Koreans and Mitsubishi went their own way for engine production, and a newly formed FCA would phase out the CVT for the Belvedere Trio. Later, both Nissan-Mitsubishi and FCA would hookup with French automakers. Nissan married Renault and FCA went to PSA. The rest is recent history.

Nissan's obsession with their JATCO CVT would eventually doom that brand in North America. Their reputation suffered greatly. What puzzled auto industry observers was that Nissan was leading the industry on electrification with the Leaf EV, but the company never offered Americans the e-Power hybrid setup based on the Nissan Leaf's drive motor and electrical architecture. This left American consumers with little choice beyond a CVT in most Nissan products sold here, while everywhere else was offered a hybrid alternative.

Nissan will be bringing their 3rd generation e-Power hybrid system to the USA market. The Nissan e-Power hybrid system is a series hybrid, the IC engine only powers a generator, while e-motors power the drive wheels. It will be offered in two versions, a non plugin hybrid with a small battery or a plugin EREV version with a larger battery pack. The 3rd generation e-Power hybrid system will be built here and installed in the next generation Nissan Rogue built in New Smyrna, Tennessee. Here is the dilemma for Nissan, the New Smyrna facility only runs at half of its capacity. The plant is not making money at that level.

Certain news outlets today are reporting that Nissan is in talks with both Stellantis and Ford about using the 3rd generation E-Power system for some of their products or having Nissan build a product for them in New Smyrna.

I speculate that the Stellantis suits are thinking hard about letting Nissan build a replacement for the Jeep Renegade in Tennessee, as a result of the tariff situation. My only hope is that anything which shows up in a CDJ showroom use an engine built by Stellantis here in North America. The Nissan Rogue 3 cylinder has a worse reputation than the PSA Pure Tech 3 cylinder engine, if that even seems possible. If Nissan just wants to sell the e-Power system to Stellantis for use in CDJR vehicles Stellantis should jump on it. The plugin version of the 3rd generation e-Power is a true EREV and is a generation ahead of what most of the Chinese brands are offering.

The Nissan e-Power:
 
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Interesting since Nissan was those Demonic Private Equity companies buyer for RAM, prior the SM riding in on his white horse to save the company.
 
Here's more information on this topic. The more I look up things related to this the more I realize it's legitimate. The original source seems to be Automotive News, which is behind a paywall. Here is a piece from the article from the local media in Tennessee:

Could Nissan join Ford, Stellantis to launch Rogue hybrid at Tennessee plant?
Stuart Dyos Nashville Tennessean

Nissan is reportedly exploring a collaboration with Ford and Stellantis to produce a hybrid compact crossover in Smyrna, according
to Automotive News.

The potential partnership with Ford and Jeep’s parent company would feature Nissan’s e-Power hybrid system in a Rogue crossover, two
people with knowledge of the subject told Automotive News.

While Automotive News reported the vehicle would be assembled at the company’s Smyrna plant, Nissan spokesperson Lloryn Love-Carter did not
confirm an official agreement.

“We are considering options to maximize the value of our breakthrough e-Power Hybrid technology for the U.S. market, with our initial focus
on Rogue and a future Infiniti crossover,” Love-Carter told the Tennessean. “Given our expectations for volume growth in hybrids in
the coming years, we are exploring options to localize both vehicle and powertrain production.”
Source: https://www.tennessean.com/story/mo...san-ford-stellantis-rogue-hybrid/86568664007/


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Nissan began offering e-POWER on select models for the Japan market in 2016. Since then, Nissan has expanded the model line-up of e-POWER vehicles and their availability in several global markets.

・First-generation e-POWER system (2016~)​

The first-generation e-POWER system combined existing engine options with an electric motor used on the Nissan LEAF, which offered EV-like driving performance with the peace of mind of having an onboard gasoline engine.

・Second-generation e-POWER system (2020~)​

The second-generation e-POWER system (introduced in 2020) integrated the motor and inverter, making the powertrain more compact. It also was offered with more specialized engine options including a higher-output engine that expanded the range of models to include SUVs as the technology was introduced in new markets. Additionally, the system featured dedicated engines optimized for power generation.

・Third-generation e-POWER system (scheduled to debut in 2025)​

The third-generation e-POWER system, scheduled to debut in 2025, takes an impressive evolutionary jump from the previous generation by adopting a 5-in-1 modular approach that optimizes the packaging of the motor, reducer, inverter, electric generator and increaser. The result is a purpose-build powertrain with a compact size that is powerful, efficient and quiet. Combined with an engine made specifically for e-POWER, engineers have enhanced the fuel efficiency while highway driving (up to 15%) and reduced in-cabin noise by up to 5.6 dB.
Source: e-POWER (Third generation) | Innovation | Nissan Motor Corporation Global Website

Here is a closer look at the 5-in-1 module for the 3rd generation e-Power system:
1760047007518.png
IMO, Stellantis should sign on to help Nissan bolster a business case for production of this system in the United States. This is a win all around. Such a system is exactly the drivetrain the upcoming Jeep Compass and Renegade replacement need for our market.

I will have more to say about all this later.
 
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Remember when Mitsubishi rebadged Dakotas and sold them in decent numbers here in the U.S.? What if Ram rebadged (and slightly restyled) Frontiers and called them Dakotas and sold them in the U.S.? That would actually be an interesting partnership.
 
My initial reaction is ewwwww, want nothing to do with Nissan.

But that is based upon product not an e-drive module. Trying to imagine a then-new 4th gen Ram 1500 wearing Nissan Titan badging and front end makes me glad that never got off the ground. It’s the only reason 5.0 Cummins ever saw production
 
5.0 Cummins was Fred Diaz baby. He was "in charge" of Ram under FCA when they got nicer interiors and a slew of other upgrades after the Tupperware "just build it as cheap as possible" Daimler days.

He must have attributed Rams success to himself and not the storied brand itself, because he thought he could do the same thing at Nissan with a cummins Titan - nope!

Never heard from the guy since, which is ironic since Nissan is now in the sh!t just like Chrysler was.
 
There are two reasons Nissan approached other automakers, the New Smyrna facility is only working well below capacity and Nissan needs a high production volume forecast to justify building an American production line for the 5-in-1 e-Power unit.

The people in Auburn Hills have to worry about keeping the capacity of their own production lines full. That is why many industry analysts are speculating the Jeep Gladiator and the BOF Ram midsize will be built on the same line and share design features and parts. The Frontier shares a lot with its Mitsubishi pickup cousin and also the Frontier isn't built in the New Smyrna plant. If Nissan wants to fill up the capacity wherever the Frontier is built, they will allow Mitsubishi to sell their pickup truck in our market.

While we are still waiting for the range extended Ram pickup, Nissan's 3rd generation e-Power has been on sale for a number of weeks in Europe. The previous generations of e-Power were never offered in our market because the French overlords (Renault) were pushing EVs such as the Leaf and Ariya. When Nissan and Honda were courting each other in Japan they had a falling out when Honda insisted on using their hybrid system over that of Nissan's, even though the 3rd generation was nearing production and the develop money was spent. According to European automotive press members that have driven both the Honda hybrid and the newest e-Power, the Nissan is the better setup.

The next Compass is going to use the STLA-medium platform and it would be nice if there were a Dodge and a Chrysler sharing the same platform. The STLA platform is flexible allowing for both EV and ICE drive options. Take the EV replace the front e-motor with a 5-in-1 unit, use only one quarter of the batteries and keep the rear e-axle. This creates a successful EREV. I'm sure the CDJ brand managers will also offer some ICE options for the entry level offerings, but Nissan's offer has a lot of potential.
 
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