Taiwanese electronics giant Foxconn is negotiating the purchase of French carmaker Renault’s stake in its Japanese counterpart Nissan, Taiwan’s Central News Agency (CNA) said on Thursday. According to this agency, which cites anonymous industry sources, Foxconn’s head of electric vehicle strategy traveled to France to negotiate with Renault about the purchase of its Nissan shares.
On Wednesday, Japanese car group Honda confirmed it was exploring the possibility of merging with Nissan to better compete with Tesla and its Chinese rivals in the field of electric vehicles. Foxconn, also known by its official name Hon Hai Precision Industry, is the world’s largest electronic components subcontractor and manufactures products for a large number of companies, including Apple. The company is looking to diversify into electric vehicles, primarily in Japan, as well as semiconductors and servers.
The group’s president, Young Liu, said in November that the company was in talks with “two Japanese automakers” in the hope of signing contracts in the coming months, but without giving details.
Alliance Rebalancing
According to CNA, Foxconn “directly expressed” to Nissan its desire to enter its capital, but “Nissan did not accept.” As a result, Foxconn’s head of electric vehicle strategy Jun “Seki and his team are currently negotiating with Renault in France, hoping that Renault will want to sell its stake in Nissan to Hon Hai,” the agency said. Contacted, Foxconn did not immediately respond.
Bloomberg indicated on Wednesday that Foxconn’s desire to acquire a majority stake in Nissan had accelerated negotiations between the latter and Honda. The two Japanese manufacturers are already associated in a “strategic partnership.” As part of the rebalancing of their alliance, announced in early 2023 after years of conflict, Renault and Nissan continue to maintain a cross-shareholding of 15%. Renault, which previously owned 43.4% of Nissan, transferred its shares beyond 15% to a French trust.
Source: BFM TV
