Nissan-Renault Alliance Restructuring Complete: "Equal Equity Investment, True Equality"

Agreement on 15% Investment... Joint Venture to Launch Independent Business
New EV Company 'Ampere' to Collaborate

Japan's Nissan Motor and France's Renault, which had been in conflict over uneven equity stakes and executive personnel issues, have agreed to restructure their shareholding and have reunited. After five months of turmoil, the two companies agreed to maintain an equal 15% stake in Nissan, marking the beginning of a truly equal partnership.

Instead, Nissan agreed to jointly invest in Renault's electric vehicle (EV) subsidiary, bringing an end to the conflict between the two companies. The reorganization of their alliance is drawing attention both inside and outside Japan regarding its potential impact on the future automotive market.

[Image source=AP Yonhap News]

On the 27th, Nihon Keizai Shimbun (Nikkei) reported that Nissan and Renault reached an agreement on the restructuring of their alliance, which had been in conflict for the past five months. According to this agreement, Renault will reduce its existing 43% stake in Nissan to 15%, and Nissan will invest 15% equally with Renault. This is analyzed as the establishment of a truly equal alliance.

Previously, Renault rescued Nissan, which was facing a management crisis in 1999, and attempted a full merger at that time. Although this ultimately failed, Renault took a large share of Nissan's stock, effectively leading the management. However, Nissan, citing reasons such as its business scale and sales volume surpassing Renault's, has continuously insisted on reviewing the capital relationship.

Makoto Uchida, Nissan's president, emphasized at a press conference the day before, "With this change in capital relations, the two companies will become truly equal." Nikkei also evaluated, "Now Nissan and Renault will be able to freely exercise voting rights and develop independent business strategies with an equal capital relationship." The review of the capital relationship is expected to be completed within this year after obtaining regulatory approval.

This agreement was reached after about five months of intense negotiations. Nikkei reported that some Nissan board members had put a brake on the final contract, fearing intellectual property leakage to Renault, reflecting the internal atmosphere. However, starting from the shareholders' meeting in June, all authority was concentrated in CEO Makoto Uchida, and the problem began to be resolved, Nikkei reported.

[Image source=Reuters Yonhap News]

Renault, which conceded in equity stakes, secured Nissan's cooperation in the electric vehicle sector instead. Under this agreement, Nissan will invest 600 million euros (845.9 billion won) in 'Ampere,' Renault's planned spin-off EV subsidiary. Nissan will also dispatch directors and employees to strengthen cooperation in the EV field. Renault will invest about 50% in Ampere, and the American company Qualcomm is also expected to participate in the investment. With Ampere preparing for an initial public offering (IPO) in the first half of next year, Renault has succeeded in securing stable funding.

Japanese media are paying attention to the competitiveness of the EV market that the two companies will create in the future. Nissan had previously launched the world's first mass-produced EV in 2010. However, it has not been able to demonstrate its presence recently, which Nikkei attributes to the management style of former Nissan chairman Carlos Ghosn. Due to poor sales, investment was hesitant. Nikkei added, "Now, under 'post-Ghosn' management, the plan is to enhance the added value of EVs."

This content was produced with the assistance of AI translation services.