Automakers Renault Group and Nissan have begun a new partnership following regulatory approval.
The French and Japanese companies have been partners for the past 24 years, and the latest partnership, announced in February, was aimed at putting the two companies on a more equal footing.
“Following the receipt of all necessary regulatory approvals, the new alliance agreement between Groupe Renault and Nissan enters into force today and replaces the previous agreement governing the alliance,” both manufacturers said in a written statement. common statement Members of the alliance, which also includes Japan’s Mitsubishi Motors, made the announcement Wednesday.
Alliance President Jean-Dominique Senard said the new Alliance agreement: Signed in July.
“This is a very important step for the Renault Group, Nissan Motors and Mitsubishi Motors, and it lays the foundation for a new fair, long-term and effective partnership,” he added.
Mitsubishi Motors has also been a partner since 1999, but is not directly involved in this announcement.
end of french rule
On the other hand, Renault Previously owned 43.4% of Nissan stock.Currently, both companies hold 15% of each other’s shares.
Under the new partnership, voting rights for both companies will be limited to 15%, and “both companies will be free to exercise their voting rights within that limit,” the statement said.
This marks the end of the dominance of French companies in alliances.
Their relationship began in 1999, when Renault set up shop in Tokyo, and has continued for decades. Like any relationship, this one has had its ups and downs, such as when the French government became one of Renault’s major shareholders in 2015, which came as a surprise.
The stunning fall of Carlos Ghosn, then chairman of the alliance, was another turbulent episode in the partnership, which culminated in his arrest in Japan in 2018 on suspicion of false accounting.
What will the “new alliance” change?
A statement released on Wednesday revealed that Renault will transfer 28.4% of its Nissan shares to a “French trust, and the shares held in trust will be voted neutral, with limited exceptions.”
As announced last February, the French automaker “will continue to benefit fully from the economic rights (dividends and stock proceeds) from the Nissan shares held in trust until the shares are sold.”
Such a sale could occur at any time, and if Renault decides to sell its Nissan shares, Nissan will be entitled to a preferred offer.
The cooperation between Mitsubishi, Nissan, and Renault allows the three automakers to save money because Renault and Nissan use the same engines and some Renault cars are sold under the Mitsubishi brand.
The alliance includes 375,000 workers around the world.