The news keeps on coming with the Mercedes pickup. This time, it’s an official statement from the automaker in regards to an alliance with Renault-->ke72Nissan.->ke62 The two will collaborate in designing and building both the yet-unnamed Mercedes truck and the next-generation Nissan NP300.

You read that right. The Mercedes->ke187 pickup will share its architecture with Nissan. This won’t be an exercise in badge engineering, however. Mercedes promises its truck will be specially engineered and designed by Daimler to meet its customers’ expectations and needs.

Mercedes does confirm the truck will be offered as a “double cab,” or crew cab as it’s known in the U.S. The pickup->ke242 will target both commercial and personal-use customers in the already-announced regions of Europe, Australia, South Africa, and Latin America. However, as we just reported, Mercedes USA boss Steve Cannon just announced the truck might be headed for North America as well.

The partnership between the two automakers dates back five years, with project beginning in Europe. Now the pair have announced both the Nissan and Mercedes trucks will be built in plants in Cordoba, Argentina and Barcelona, Spain, with the costs being shared between the two. Together these two plants will crank out some 190,000 trucks annually.

Like the Mercedes truck, Nissan’s new truck will feature its own design. Depending on region, the truck will continue under the NP300 Navara and NP300 Frontier nomenclature. Adding fuel to the flame, Nissan could potentially use this same truck design in its U.S.-spec Frontier.->ke547 That makes perfect sense considering both the Nissan and Mercedes trucks would have to pass U.S. crash-test and emissions regulations. If those regulations are already incorporated into the truck’s design for Nissan, that might make Mercedes’ decision to enter the U.S. truck market that much easier. What’s more, Nissan likely has the capability to build both trucks in its Canton, Mississippi assembly plant.

Continue reading to learn more about Mercedes-Benz's future pickup truck.

Why it matters

Regarding the stated facts, this alliance between Mercedes and Renault-Nissan will be critical to both the Nissan and Mercedes trucks’ designs and construction. Sharing these development costs will help keep the projects well-funded, hopefully leading to outstanding products.

What’s more, Nissan is already planning a larger truck based on the Mercedes/NP300 design. It will be a one-ton truck badged as a Renault and sold Globally – save for North America, of course.

Now regarding the speculation that Nissan and Mercedes will enter the U.S. market together with a co-designed Frontier/Mercedes truck, the partnership would only serve to help both parties involved, allowing costs to be shared. That’s especially true in preparation for passing the U.S.’ strict crash-test and emissions regulations. And like I mentioned in the article above, having Nissan build both trucks in its Canton, Mississippi plant seems like the perfect win-win scenario for both automakers.

It will certainly be interesting to see how this plays out.

2020 Mercedes-Benz Pickup Truck