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TOKYO – Renault, Nissan Motor and Mitsubishi Motors pledged on Thursday to "engage firmly" in the auto alliance despite tensions that erupted last week after Carlos Ghosn's arrest in Japan, president of the partnership, for financial misconduct.
Thierry Bollore, Renault's deputy general manager, Hiroto Saikawa, chief executive of Nissan, and Osamu Masuko, of Mitsubishi, issued a joint statement Thursday after a discussion on the future of the alliance.
"In recent days, the Boards of Directors of Groupe Renault, Nissan Motor Co. and Mitsubishi Motors Corporation have all – individually and collectively – strongly reiterated their firm commitment to the alliance," says the press release. "The alliance has enjoyed unprecedented success over the past two decades."
"We remain fully committed to the Alliance," the statement said.
This statement follows 10 days of unrest and uncertainty over the future of the alliance after the arrest of Ghosn at Haneda Airport in Tokyo. The Japanese authorities allege that Nissan's savior had under-reported his income and received other undeclared benefits.
Ghosn was later dismissed as president of Nissan and Mitsubishi. However, he remains in command of Renault, the French automaker insisting that he has not yet seen the details of the allegations.
Last week, the company said, "The board is not able to comment on the seemingly collected evidence against Mr. Ghosn."
The arrest of the Renault president has uncovered friction between the French automaker – as well as the French government, which holds 15% of Renault's capital – and the Japanese Nissan management, the world's automaker. alliance.
At the time of his arrest, Ghosn was president of the three automakers and was seen as the cement of the alliance.
Renault, which owns 43 percent of Nissan's share capital, has attempted to name Ghosn's successor at the Japanese automaker ahead of a board meeting last week. Nissan rejected this request and announced that a candidate would be selected by its outside directors.
On the night of Ghosn's arrest on November 19, Nissan's Saikawa said the partnership would not be affected by the charges against him. He added that in the future, the alliance should not rely on "one individual in particular and aim for a more sustainable structure".
According to the alliance's website, Ghosn remains the president and general manager. The agreement that maintains the alliance provides that the CEO of Renault is the leader.
However, the arrest of Ghosn and Nissan's dissatisfaction with the status quo mean that partners are now at risk of struggling for a new management structure.
On Thursday, it appeared that Tokyo prosecutors intended to seek an extension of Ghosn's detention period. Prosecutors may seek court approval to detain Ghosn for an additional 10 days before deciding to charge him.
Ghosn was arrested on suspicion of having reported about 5 billion yen ($ 44 million) of nearly 10 billion yen in compensation over five years as of fiscal 2010.
On Wednesday, Ghosn reportedly also planned to personally buy residences abroad from a subsidiary of the company when the legality of their initial purchase would have been questioned by auditors, told Reuters. Nikkei sources close to the folder.
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