Nissan, Renault launch 'rebalanced' alliance

Nissan, Renault launch 'rebalanced' alliance

The partnership began in 1999, when Renault rescued Nissan from bankruptcy
The partnership began in 1999, when Renault rescued Nissan from bankruptcy. Photo: Kazuhiro NOGI / AFP/File
Source: AFP

French automaker Renault and Japanese partner Nissan officially launched their "rebalanced" alliance on Wednesday as they seek to reset a rocky 24-year-old partnership.

The companies announced an agreement in February to put their partnership, which also includes Japanese automaker Mitsubishi, on an equal footing, with Renault giving up its dominant position.

"After having obtained all required regulatory approvals, the New Alliance Agreement between Renault Group and Nissan comes today into force," the companies said in a joint statement.

"This is a very important step for Renault Group, Nissan and Mitsubishi Motors," the chairman of the alliance, Jean-Dominique Senard, said in the statement.

He said the deal "lays the foundations for a new fair, long-standing and effective partnership that will create value for each Alliance member and for all our stakeholders".

Read also

Relief in crypto world over Bankman-Fried conviction

The partnership began in 1999, when Renault rescued Nissan from bankruptcy.

PAY ATTENTION: Сheck out news that is picked exactly for YOU ➡️ find the “Recommended for you” block on the home page and enjoy!

Mitsubishi Motors joined in 2016, with Nissan taking a 34-percent stake in its struggling Japanese rival.

But tensions erupted in 2015 when the French state increased its stake in Renault. This was later reduced and an agreement was reached to cap the government's ability to interfere in the alliance's affairs.

The union was shaken again in 2018 with the arrest of Nissan boss Carlos Ghosn in Japan.

Ghosn, who was sacked and fled to Lebanon to avoid prosecution in 2019, claimed the charges against him were intended to prevent him from bringing the Japanese and French automakers closer together.

'New era'

Former Nissan chairman Carlos Ghosn made a dramatic escape from Japan hidden in an audio-equipment box in 2019
Former Nissan chairman Carlos Ghosn made a dramatic escape from Japan hidden in an audio-equipment box in 2019. Photo: ANWAR AMRO / AFP/File
Source: AFP

In Wednesday's statement, the companies said the new alliance "lays the foundations for a new balanced, fair, and effective governance".

Read also

UK, US, China sign AI safety pledge at UK summit

As part of the deal, Renault reduced its stake in the Japanese automaker from 43.4 percent to 15 percent, the same size as Nissan's share in its French counterpart.

The voting rights of Renault and Nissan are capped at 15 percent, the statement said.

Nissan announced earlier this year it would investment 600 million euros ($640 million) in Renault's new electric vehicle venture, Ampere, though the amount was smaller than Renault had hoped. Mitsubishi is pouring 200 million euros into Ampere.

"We are now effectively entering this new era of the Alliance with a pragmatic and business-oriented approach," Renault chief executive Luca de Meo said on Wednesday.

Nissan CEO Makoto Uchida said: "Based on this equal footing, Nissan will continue to harness our core competencies and be more agile to explore further growth opportunities that support our business strategy".

Source: AFP

Authors:
AFP avatar

AFP AFP text, photo, graphic, audio or video material shall not be published, broadcast, rewritten for broadcast or publication or redistributed directly or indirectly in any medium. AFP news material may not be stored in whole or in part in a computer or otherwise except for personal and non-commercial use. AFP will not be held liable for any delays, inaccuracies, errors or omissions in any AFP news material or in transmission or delivery of all or any part thereof or for any damages whatsoever. As a newswire service, AFP does not obtain releases from subjects, individuals, groups or entities contained in its photographs, videos, graphics or quoted in its texts. Further, no clearance is obtained from the owners of any trademarks or copyrighted materials whose marks and materials are included in AFP material. Therefore you will be solely responsible for obtaining any and all necessary releases from whatever individuals and/or entities necessary for any uses of AFP material.