Nissan & Renault negotiate future of alliance
Nissan and Renault are currently negotiating the future of the alliance and, more specifically, the Japanese carmaker’s participation in Renault’s planned electric car division. The announcement was made by both manufacturers in a short joint statement, without disclosing further details.
Renault reportedly wants to remain the majority shareholder of the French-based electric car division Ampère, which employs around 10,000 people and could be floated on the stock market in the second half of 2023. What remains unclear is which shares could go to Nissan in exchange for which investment.
The two companies say they are “engaged in trustful discussions around several initiatives as part of continued efforts to reinforce the cooperation and the future of the Alliance”. Three topics of discussion have been mentioned: One is an agreement on a number of strategic joint initiatives across markets, products and technologies; The second is Nissan’s consideration of investing in the new Renault EV venture; And thirdly, jointly driving “structural improvements” to ensure “sustainable operation and governance of the alliance”.
In their very short statement, the two companies have said that any further communication will be done “in due course by the Alliance members”.
The manufacturer alliance Renault-Nissan-Mitsubishi reorganised its cooperation in May 2020 and, among other things, introduced a “leader-follower principle”. This meant that in Europe, for example, Renault would be the reference brand and other vehicles would be derived from Renault models instead of developing independent competitor models – the most obvious example being the Mitsubishi ASX PHEV unveiled in September, which is a redesigned Renault Captur. However, with Renault independently planning to spin off its electric car business, the alliance collaboration will probably have to be clarified anew.
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