Nissan ties up with Chrysler

Nissan Motor Co said on Monday it would make a new small car designed by Chrysler LLC and Chrysler will make a full-size pickup truck designed by Nissan.

Both products will be sold in North America, and the new Chrysler small car will also be sold in Europe and other global markets starting in 2010. No financial details were disclosed. The new Chrysler small car will be made at Nissan's Oppama plant in Japan. Chrysler will make the pickup truck at its plant in Saltillo, Mexico, and it will go on sale in 2011, the companies said.

The Nissan Titan, Nissan's current full-size pickup, will remain on the market until the new pickup goes on sale, said Dominique Thormann, senior vice president for administration and finance at Nissan North America. The Canton, Mississippi, plant that makes the Titan will start producing commercial vehicles for Nissan and no jobs will be lost, Thormann said.

To clear room to build the Nissan pickup in Saltillo, Chrysler will shift production of its own pickup trucks from Mexico to US-based pickup factories, the companies said in a statement. 'Forging the right tactical partnerships is critical to the long-term success of Chrysler,' Chrysler President and Vice Chairman Tom LaSorda said in the statement.