Photo: Renault-Nissan
Renault and Nissan go a long way back. They’ve been brothers in arms since 1999, and with the addition of Mitsubishi to the alliance in 2016, the three-prong association made Renault-Nissan-Mitsubishi the world’s largest automaker in 2017.
Don’t forget, however, that each automaker is an individual entity that collaborates with the other two in the alliance. Back in March 2018, Bloomberg reported that a merger between Renault and Nissan could happen to streamline operations and strengthen profit as one entity. The peeps in Japan don’t see it that way, though.
Nikkei Asian Review quotes Nissan chief executive officer Hiroto Saikawa, who “brushed aside the idea of merging the Japanese automaker with its French partner Renault.” According to Saikawa, “the point of the alliance is to keep its members independent and maximize the growth of each.” On the other hand, head honcho Carlos Ghosn declared that “all options are open” as far as Renault is concerned.
The biggest driving force behind the merger is the French government, which owns 15 percent of Renault. Nissan also happens to control 15 percent of Renault and 34 percent of Mitsubishi. Renault, meanwhile, owns a 43-percent stake in Nissan. So why does the government want to bring Nissan under the French automaker’s influence, you ask? To grow the country’s auto industry, of course!
This back-and-forth has affected the stock of each automaker in the past handful of days, with the price per share of both Nissan and Renault fluctuating more than on any other day. To set the record straight for both parties, a proper decision could be made official in June 2018 at Groupe Renault’s annual general meeting in Paris.
Regardless of what Saikawa and Ghosn claim, the truth of the matter is that Nissan and Renault depend on each other, both as individual entities and within the alliance. From the Common Module Family of platforms to shared engine options and EV technology, the two of them are joined at the hip.
Nikkei Asian Review quotes Nissan chief executive officer Hiroto Saikawa, who “brushed aside the idea of merging the Japanese automaker with its French partner Renault.” According to Saikawa, “the point of the alliance is to keep its members independent and maximize the growth of each.” On the other hand, head honcho Carlos Ghosn declared that “all options are open” as far as Renault is concerned.
The biggest driving force behind the merger is the French government, which owns 15 percent of Renault. Nissan also happens to control 15 percent of Renault and 34 percent of Mitsubishi. Renault, meanwhile, owns a 43-percent stake in Nissan. So why does the government want to bring Nissan under the French automaker’s influence, you ask? To grow the country’s auto industry, of course!
This back-and-forth has affected the stock of each automaker in the past handful of days, with the price per share of both Nissan and Renault fluctuating more than on any other day. To set the record straight for both parties, a proper decision could be made official in June 2018 at Groupe Renault’s annual general meeting in Paris.
Regardless of what Saikawa and Ghosn claim, the truth of the matter is that Nissan and Renault depend on each other, both as individual entities and within the alliance. From the Common Module Family of platforms to shared engine options and EV technology, the two of them are joined at the hip.
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