Japan's Nissan Motor Co and Germany's Daimler AG are planning to jointly develop a small vehicle, a report said Wednesday.
Nissan chief executive officer Carlos Ghosn and Daimler chief Dieter Zetsche will announce Thursday the plan to expand cooperation between Nissan's Infiniti brand and Daimler's Mercedes-Benz division, the Nikkei business daily reported without citing any sources.
Under their original agreement, cooperation was limited only to providing diesel and gasoline engines for the Japanese brand, DPA reported.
The move appears to respond to growing demand for small cars as more consumers have become aware of environmental problems.
On Monday, Japan's Suzuki Motor Corp said it had decided to end its two-year alliance with Volkswagen AG after the German firm emphasized its influence over its Japanese "associate" in its annual report.