Chrysler and Nissan cancel vehicle-swapping deal

Chrysler and Nissan are canceling their 2008 deals to build vehicles for each other, the automakers announced Wednesday afternoon.

Chrysler was to provide Nissan with a full-sized truck, based on the Dodge Ram, starting in 2011. It would have been a replacement for the Nissan Titan.

Nissan, in turn, was to give Chrysler a compact vehicle, which had been dubbed the Hornet, for sale around the world in 2010. Nissan also was to give Chrysler a sedan to sell in South America this year.

The companies said in a joint statement that it was in their best interests to call off the projects. The truck and compact-car agreements had been on hold since February.

The deals were originally announced in January and April of 2008. Since then, Chrysler has gone through bankruptcy and is now owned by a group led by Fiat.

The Italian automaker must provide Chrysler with fuel-efficient cars as part of the conditions of taking an ownership stake, apparently making the Nissan-Chrysler small-car deal redundant.

By Greg Migliore