Between Renault and Nissan, relations relax… a little. According to several sources close to the Alliance, the two manufacturers are making progress in their negotiations to rebalance their cooperation. They are advancing in any case in the branch dedicated to Renault’s thermal vehicles, called Horse.
Nissan asks for several months to have the right to inspect, and even veto, over the clients to whom Renault will sell its combustion engines. The Japanese is attentive to this point because it will share several technologies with Renault, such as its hybrid engines. It is especially wary of its Chinese rival Geely, which will be a shareholder and customer of this “Horse” subsidiary. “Renault has finally understood that intellectual property issues are sensitive for Nissan,” explains one of our sources.
Still to be negotiated in electric vehicles
However, the two manufacturers have yet to make progress on the other side of their discussions: Ampere. The subsidiary dedicated to electric cars of Renault, of which Nissan should be a shareholder. Once again, Nissan claims guarantees on its technologies that will be shared with third parties. Here, it is the association with Google that scares the Japanese.
The two groups now hope to complete a deal by the end of the year celebrations, or even in mid-December, according to multiple sources. A clear advance while two weeks ago nobody dared to venture into a delay because the negotiations were faltering. “Nobody wants to show that they are in a hurry,” explains a source close to the Alliance.
At Renault we recognize that relations are “less tense” than two weeks ago. In mid-November, Renault executives traveled to Japan to meet with their Nissan counterparts. President Jean-Dominique Senard tried to pretend that everything was going well. “Trust has never been so good,” he said in Tokyo. An exaggeration that “made us laugh in Japan,” adds this close source.
Luca De Meo very upset in Japan
Because for his part, the CEO of Renault did not hide his impatience. In Japan, Luca De Meo was very upset with Nissan executives, which did not go unnoticed there. Already, a week earlier, when Renault’s strategic plan was announced on November 8, its boss Luca De Meo had admitted to BFM Business that there was “mistrust” between Renault and Nissan.
Their bosses are determined to reach an agreement quickly. But Makoto Uchida, described as a volunteer seeking a compromise, will have to convince Nissan’s board of directors while several members remain “anti-French” according to one source.
Talks between Renault and Nissan began last summer to “rebalance” the Alliance. The challenge is that each manufacturer owns 15% of the capital of the other. This is already the case with Nissan. But the Japanese would regain the voting rights associated with their stake in Renault. The big change will be especially for Renault, which will see its stake in Nissan drop from 43% to 15%, which the Japanese manufacturer has been demanding since the dismissal of Carlos Ghosn.
Source: BFM TV
