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Renault and Nissan are discussing reigniting their 26-year alliance as recent leadership changes at both companies and a financial crisis at the Japanese group have triggered a fresh review of their often tumultuous partnership.
Former Renault CEO Luca de Meo had favoured selling down the French group’s stake in Nissan after the relationship soured following the arrest of the Japanese group’s former chair Carlos Ghosn in 2018, according to people familiar with the discussions. But de Meo’s departure has led to talks over reviving the alliance agreement, the people said.
The talks are the latest chapter in a volatile partnership following a restructuring of the alliance in 2023 under which Renault agreed to gradually reduce its holding in Nissan, once as high as 43 per cent, to 10 per cent.
De Meo had wanted to reinvest Renault’s proceeds from its Nissan stake sale to drive the French carmaker’s own growth, said the people. The French group holds almost 36 per cent in Nissan, including an 18.7 per cent stake in a French trust it wants to offload. Its voting rights are limited to 15 per cent.
The sale had been complicated by Nissan’s sinking share price and the strong premium sought by De Meo to sell the shares. Renault was forced to write off €9.5bn of its stake in Nissan earlier this year.
Nissan’s share price has plummeted 25 per cent over the past year as it undergoes drastic restructuring involving multiple plant shutdowns and 20,000 job cuts.
De Meo’s exit to run French luxury group Kering has changed the calculus, opening the door for new CEO François Provost to re-evaluate the alliance and its benefits, people familiar with the company said.
At an event in Paris this month, Provost said that partnerships were a key remedy to Renault’s small scale compared with other European carmakers such as Peugeot and Fiat owner Stellantis or Mercedes-Benz.
“Twenty years with Nissan have taught us . . . that we have the ability not only to negotiate partnerships but above all to execute them to Renault’s advantage. That’s how we address the topic of scale,” he said.
A Renault spokesperson said that Provost and Nissan’s new chief executive Ivan Espinosa were in regular discussions about how each company could support each other, saying this was a “good sign” for the future of the relationship.
In his previous role, Provost was in charge of Renault’s partnerships with other groups and the company this month announced an expansion of its co-operation with Chinese carmaker Geely in Brazil.
“De Meo’s departure opened up a new possibility for the alliance . . . The new CEO is much more in favour of doing something with the alliance,” said one person with knowledge of the matter. “He is a partnership man”, added another person.
Earlier this year, Renault announced plans to acquire full control of its joint venture in India with Nissan which helped its Japanese partner raise capital while strengthening the French group’s foothold in a key market. Nissan will continue to produce at the plant.
Meanwhile, the Japanese group is building its own version of Renault’s all-electric Twingo using the French company’s platform at its Douai plant in northern France. The two groups also have an alliance with smaller rival Mitsubishi Motors.
Another person with knowledge of the discussions said more projects between Nissan and Renault will be announced. With Nissan’s performance under pressure, the company is also looking for more opportunities to jointly manufacture its vehicles with various partners.
“The alliance is a key pillar of our business,” Nissan said, adding that the two groups were working on “several high-value strategic projects”.
Renault also changed its representatives on the Nissan board, with the French group’s chair Jean-Dominique Senard departing in April, while putting in place board members charged with supporting Nissan’s financial turnaround.
The same people said it was too early to discuss specific projects the two could undertake, but that Renault could benefit from Nissan’s geographical reach in countries such as the US, where the French group does not have a presence. In an interview with the Nikkei newspaper, Espinosa said he was also discussing the joint development of products with Honda in the US despite the collapse of merger talks earlier this year.
The French group had rejected a merger proposal between Honda and Nissan earlier in the year in part because “it did not include any premium”.
“We are not talking about building back up capital stakes but . . . there are many ways in which we could collaborate further”, said one senior Nissan insider.