“This is a very important date in the 23 years of the Alliance’s life.” On the set of BFM Business, the president of the Renault-Nissan-Mitsubishi Alliance did not hide his enthusiasm a few days after the signing of a new agreement between the French and Japanese entities. According to Jean-Dominique Senard, the previous agreement was a source of frustrations that struggled to express themselves and of ulterior motives that “prevented the Alliance from moving forward.”
“Nissan had 15% of a fine company called Renault, without voting rights: objectively, it’s a bit frustrating,” said the Renault chairman, calling the old deal unity and “a bit paralyzing.” On the one hand, there was Renault who had 44% of a company in Japan and who really had no say in the matter.”
Even if Renault’s share is drastically declining, the previous situation “tied up capital that we will absolutely need in the coming years for the energy transition,” insisted Jean-Dominique Senard.
The era of associations?
The president of the Alliance assures that this new agreement will allow the initiation of large projects. “We are at a time when the automotive industry is moving towards a world of alliances. It’s too complicated, we can’t do things alone, he analyzed. Now we have to partner with semiconductor vendors, we’ve had quite a few difficulties in the past few months. This deal allows us to breathe into partnerships that will benefit others.”
Jean-Dominique Senard is also particularly optimistic about the prospects of the three groups and, in particular, of Renault in the next 5 to 8 years: “I think that our groups are not valued in the right way, that there is potential in Renault that the market does not see. Finally we will discover the great treasures of Renault, I am amazed by the innovation capacity of this group. I think we have the best electric motors in the world.”
“Luca De Meho has built a model that works. We are at the beginning of Renault’s incredible rise in the markets.”
Source: BFM TV
