Renault and Nissan have agreed on a deal which will put the automobile manufacturing giants on a more equal footing as the partnership looks to build a more constructive relationship.
Renault is reducing its stake in the Japanese carmaker to 15 per cent, down from about 43 per cent, which balances the companies’ cross-shareholdings more equally. The leftover 28.4 per cent will be transferred to a French trust.
Nissan will invest in Ampere, Renault’s new electric vehicle business, becoming a strategic shareholder. It was not specified how large the stake might be.
Renault and Nissan signed a partnership deal in 1999 but the melding of French and Japanese corporate culture has not always run smoothly.
“The ambition is to strengthen the ties of the Alliance and maximise value creation for all stakeholders”, the motor companies said in a statement announcing the news today.
Though still seeking board approval, the deal will also see the two firms teaming up to undertake “high-value-creation operational projects” in Latin America, India and Europe.
This restructuring is the result of months of strained talks and is the first major overhaul since the establishment of the alliance, which has long been riddled with tensions.
The fragile relationship – already suffering from Renault’s overpowering rule – was bruised further by the dramatic arrest of former alliance chairman a Carlos Ghosn in 2018.
Ghosn, the former Nissan boss, continues to blame Renault for the Alliance’s struggles, with particular opprobrium reserved for the French government, which maintains a 15 per cent stake in the French automaker.
Ghosn – who reportedly pushed for closer ties with Renault but was rebuffed by Nissan’s powerbrokers – was arrested on a host of financial charges in Japan, but he fled via a musical instrument box to Lebanon, which has no extradition treaty with Japan.
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