Afters years of backing away from each other, Renault and Nissan are reportedly discussing increasing cooperation and new model development programs.
Multiple sources have told the Financial Times the two automakers are in discussions to strengthen their alliance, which has been steadily weakened since the arrest in 2018 of Carlos Ghosn, then Nissan’s chairman and Renault’s CEO.
The change in mood reportedly came about after both automakers replaced their chief executives earlier this year. Ivan Espinosa succeeded Makoto Uchida in April after Nissan’s proposed shotgun marriage to Honda fell apart, and it became clear the magnitude of Nissan’s financial problems.
In August, François Provost took the reins at Renault after Luca de Meo suddenly quit to become CEO of Kering, a luxury brand conglomerate that owns Gucci, Yves Saint Laurent, Balenciaga and others.
Both Uchida-san and Mr de Meo were happy for the automakers to go their own ways, and significantly loosened the Alliance structure that had them operating closely since around the turn of the millenium.
Prior to becoming Renault’s CEO, Mr Provost was its head of international development and partnerships, and helped bring about a wide-ranging partnership with Geely, which sees Renault South Korea manufacture restyled Geely Group vehicles, as well as jointly developing and producing internal combustion engines.
A Renault spokesperson told the business newspaper, Mr Provost and Mr Espinosa were in regular discussions about how their companies could support each other.
Nissan told the Financial Times “the alliance is a key pillar of our business,” and the two automakers are working on “several high-value strategic projects”.
An unnamed source who has been party to the discussions went even further, saying more projects will be announced in the not-too-distant future.
One senior Nissan insider claimed the two companies aren’t looking to increase their financial holdings in each other, but “there are many ways in which we could collaborate further”.
Currently the Renault-Nissan-Mitsubishi Alliance works primarily through a shared model projects. For example, the Micra EV is basically a reskinned Renault 5 E-Tech, and a plethora of Renaults are tweaked for sale in Europe as Mitsubishis, with the latest Renault Captur-based ASX even making its way Down Under.
Judging from teasers, the upcoming Nissan Navara looks to be lightly restyled Mitsubishi Triton, while in Europe there will be a Nissan version of the recently unveiled Renault Twingo E-Tech. In addition to this, Nissan makes use of Renault’s production facilities in Latin America and India.
Previously the Alliance had a shared board, a joint purchasing division, and developed common platforms to be used by all brands.
At the height of the Alliance, Renault held a 43 per cent stake in Nissan, and the right to appoint senior board members. In turn Nissan had a 15 per cent non-voting shareholding in Renault, and a controlling 33 per cent stake in Mitsubishi.
Since an agreement in 2023 to “rebalance” the relationship, Renault agreed to put the majority of its Nissan shareholding in a trust, eventually sell down its Nissan stake to 15 per cent, and voluntarily limit its influence at the Japanese automaker.
It has, so far, only reduced its shareholding to 36 per cent, with Mr de Meo reportedly holding out for higher offers prior to Nissan’s financial meltdown.