Nissan is reportedly selling all of its 1.5 percent stake on Daimler, according to Automotive News. This follows a similar move done by the Japanese automaker's Alliance partner Renault, which has sold its takes to the German company in March.
To recall, Nissan and Renault exchanged stakes with Daimler ten years ago to strengthen industrial partnerships, giving birth to rebadged vehicles within the automakers' lineups, especially within the commercial vehicle segment and most notably, the Mercedes X-Class, which was a midsize luxury pickup based on the Navara, the global cousin of North America's Nissan Frontier.
The report stated that the move to sell shares won't affect the cooperation between the companies. It's important to note, though, that people close to the matter said that there are larger initial plans that didn't push through so cross-shareholdings were no longer needed. These huge plans were never discussed, however.
Nissan's shares are expected to close at 69.85 euros (around $83) a share, according to sources. With that amount, Nissan is expected to get under 1.2 billion euros ($1.2 billion) from the deal.
Renault, on the other hand, closed at 72.41 euros (around $87) a share.
What the cooperation between Daimler and the Alliance will produce remains to be seen. Of note, the Mercedes X-Class has ceased its production in 2020, ending a roughly two-year run for the posh pickup truck.
The X-Class was produced in Nissan's plant in Barcelona, Spain. Considered by Mercedes-Benz as a niche product that's only important in South Africa and Australia, the German marque decided to drop the X-Class from the lineup for obvious reasons. Price was, of course, one of those reasons.
