Dieter Zetsche, Chairman of the Board of Management of Daimler AG and Head of Mercedes-Benz Cars, and Carlos Ghosn, Chairman and Chief Executive Officer of Renault-Nissan, spoke at a live Internet press conference today, June 27, where they announced plans to jointly develop premium compact vehicles and produce them together in Mexico.

The Renault-Nissan Alliance and Daimler AG are significantly expanding their cooperation with joint development of premium compact vehicles and joint production in Mexico.

Infiniti began assembly, on June 26, at the Infiniti Decherd Powertrain Plant, a collaboration between the Renault-Nissan Alliance and Daimler AG. The first engine to be assembled at the all-new facility is a 2.0-liter turbocharged gasoline 4-cylinder developed by Daimler. The engines will initially be used in European versions of the Infiniti Q50 sports sedan and the Mercedes-Benz C-Class assembled in Tuscaloosa, Alabama.

It’s a case of lights, camera, action for Renault as the company takes a starring role at the 67th Cannes Film Festival, which runs from 14-25 May.

As well as providing more than 200 vehicles – double the number used last year – to chauffeur the stars to screenings and press calls, Renault is presenting a film of its own at the famous festival. The Innovators, a 12-minute ‘short’ with a futuristic theme, celebrates the centenary of the birth of Charlie Chaplin and stars two suitably futuristic Renaults – Twizy and the Twin’Z concept.

Infiniti’s latest model, the Q50 premium sports sedan, will be fitted with a four-cylinder 2.2 liter diesel engine from Daimler AG. The new model, which goes on sale across Europe starting this autumn, is the first Infiniti model to benefit from the three-year strategic cooperation with the German automaker.

The luxury electric vehicle has landed – star of the New York International Auto Show is the Infiniti LE. Officially it’s still a concept but Infiniti admits that a production version of the sleek zero-emission sedan will hit the streets within the next two years “in near-similar form”.

Like the stunning Infiniti EMERG-E range-extender sports concept that wowed the Geneva Motor Show, the LE Concept combines a sweeping aerodynamic body – with a Cd figure of just 0.25 – with an elegant interior, inspired driving dynamics and advanced next-generation technology. The difference, of course, is that the LE is a 100 per cent pure electric vehicle.

The Renault-Nissan Alliance showcased its zero emissions future in dramatic fashion at this year’s Mondial de l’Automobile in Paris.

Andy Palmer, Nissan SVP for Global Planning and Program Management, contrasted this year’s show with that in 2008 and explained how things had changed.

With auto show season in full swing, the annual New York show provides a good balance between two of the major global shows in Geneva and Beijing/Shanghai. Last week I attended the first media day and overall, the mood seemed cautiously optimistic, boosted by many new product intros.