Automotive News Europe — 2022-12-03
Automotive Industry
Renault and Nissan are set to delay a Wednesday 30 November announcement of a deal to restructure their automotive alliance as they struggle to bridge their differences, three people familiar with the matter said.
Discussions with Nissan started earlier this year as Renault began work to carve out its electric-vehicle business, known as Ampere.
Nissan may invest $500m to $750m for a stake of about 15% in Ampere, but the agreement hinges on a wider deal that would see Renault reduce its own 43% stake in Nissan to about 15% over time to put the partners on a more equal footing.
The question of how to share technology and intellectual property has been a sticking point in the talks.
Renault and Nissan declined to comment.
Nissan CEO Makoto Uchida will attend a board meeting of the operating alliance on Tuesday at Renault headquarters in Boulogne-Billancourt, Bloomberg reported. Nissan Chief Operating Officer Ashwani Gupta is also expected to attend.
The automakers have been aiming to announce the new alliance structure this month. If more time is needed in negotiations, the companies could opt to meet a week later from 7 December and are planning to be ready for an announcement the following week in London, sources told Reuters.
Nissan is in talks "every day" with Renault to bring the alliance "to the next step" and "become stronger together," Uchida said in an interview with Bloomberg in New York on Thursday 1 December.
The alliance was struggling even before the 2018 toppling of Carlos Ghosn, who was then its chairman and widely seen as the glue holding the group together. The reset is all the more urgent as automakers globally grapple with a costly and difficult transition to electrification.
Renault Chairman Jean-Dominique Senard and CEO Luca de Meo, along with Francois Provost, senior vice president of international development and partnerships, and Renault’s entire board of directors flew to Tokyo in November for in-person meetings, sources said.
Senard and de Meo expressed optimism about the talks in recent weeks, but called the negotiations complex and cautioned about setting any deadlines.