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The car alliance between Renault and Nissan is threatened by confusion between partners over how to fill a void in leadership while its president, Carlos Ghosn, is kept in detention in Japan.
Senior officials of the Amsterdam-based alliance are due to meet on Thursday during their first meeting since Ghosn was arrested last week for underestimating his earnings and misusing Nissan's holdings. Nissan CEO Hiroto Saikawa and others could attend by videoconference, sources said.
Ghosn remains chairman of the partnership, which includes the smaller Mitsubishi Motors. In his absence, one of the options advocated by Nissan is to split the top post of alliance between the three companies, said one of the sources. But the French government, Renault's largest shareholder, believes in the principle that the president of the automaker should lead the alliance, a view shared by Renault officials, according to Bloomberg.
The emptiness of the leadership stems from Mr. Ghosn's disproportionate role at the top of the alliance. He developed the partnership between French and Japanese companies, which has grown to challenge Volkswagen as the world's leading automaker. In the rules of governance and the main lines of its functioning, the decisions and the recommendations "are always taken by consensus between the two shareholders". It worked when he ran the three partners, but last week he was fired as president of Nissan and Mitsubishi.
Nissan would aim to decide who will succeed Mr Ghosn as acting president at his next meeting of the board of directors on 17 December. Nissan has announced that three outside directors will nominate a candidate from the remaining members of its board of directors.
The Franco-Brazilian executive, who was overthrown as president by the two Japanese partners, denied having committed a wrongdoing, according to NHK, the Japanese national broadcaster.
Nissan recorded the indemnities to be paid to Mr. Ghosn each year. Prosecutors in Tokyo believe that the amount of compensation that Mr. Ghosn would receive was set at the time of filing. He was therefore required to report this deferred payment in the securities reports, said the Japanese media. Mr. Ghosn told prosecutors that former director of representation, Greg Kelly, told him that the way he reported his remuneration was legal. Asahi newspaper reported.
The turmoil in the alliance comes at a critical juncture as automakers around the world grapple with a range of challenges, from slowing sales in key markets to long-term technological change. requiring mbadive investments. This is why badysts believe that it is essential that the partners settle their differences, otherwise they risk falling behind their rivals, from Germany to Silicon Valley.
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The complex dynamic between Nissan and Renault is further complicated by the dismissal of Mr. Ghosn who, before his arrest, planned to cement the collusion by a complete merger of companies, The National reported Monday. Nissan chief executive Hiroto Saikawa has opposed the decision, which seeks to give more power to the Japanese side in the partnership, which it considers too biased towards the French, the press reported.
Nissan's goal is to correct perceived imbalances within the alliance by limiting the power of its French partner to appoint representatives to its own board and to appoint the president of the alliance. The Japanese automaker does not expect ownership changes to be discussed at the meeting, although there are discussions on the choice of the alliance chairman. a source said.
French Finance Minister Bruno Le Maire on Sunday called the alliance "indispensable" and said he wanted to strengthen it while retaining the cross-shareholdings and existing governance rules, in particular by demanding that the president of Renault badume the same role as the leader of the alliance. Renault's board of directors did not oust Mr. Ghosn but appointed Thierry Bollore, deputy, acting director.
Renault holds 43% of the votes, which holds only 15% of Renault's capital, without voting rights.
It is clear that the tension between the two manufacturers would make decision-making within the alliance tricky. Although the French partner has the power to appoint the president, the vice president – currently Mr. Saikawa – comes from Nissan. The spokesman for both companies declined to comment.
Mitsubishi Motors chairman Osamu Masuko announced Monday that he will follow the meeting in Amsterdam by videoconference to discuss his future with the leaders of the three companies. He added: "I do not think that a meeting will define the whole future".
A Daimler executive may also attend the meeting. The German manufacturer has stakes in Renault and Nissan.
The Franco-Japanese alliance began nearly two decades ago and in 2002 the partners created Renault-Nissan, a company equally owned by Dutch law and responsible for the strategic management of the alliance. Mitsubishi joined the team in 2016.
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