By Norihiko Shirouzu and Gilles Guillaume
TOKYO/PARIS (Reuters) – French car maker Renault and its Japanese partner Nissan Motor aim to formally unveil a deal to reshape their alliance in London on Feb. 6, two sources close to the matter told Reuters on Thursday.
Leaders of the two companies were meeting via video link for an alliance board meeting on Thursday following months of intense negotiations over how to reset their long-running partnership. They opted for that format – rather than having Renault CEO Luca de Meo and Chairman Jean-Dominique Senard travel to Japan – because the talks have been progressing well, sources had previously told Reuters.
The boards of the two firms would still need to individually approve a potential deal after Thursday’s meeting.
Renault is looking for the Japanese automaker to invest in its new electric-vehicle business while Nissan wants Renault, its top shareholder, to sell down its roughly 43% stake and put the 23-year alliance on a more equal footing.
Renault has consistently declined to comment publicly about the talks with its Japanese partner, while a spokesperson for Nissan declined to comment on Thursday.
French newspaper Le Figaro reported late on Wednesday that the companies would announce 4 to 5 joint projects to relaunch the alliance. Renault had proposed working together on 10-15 projects the paper said.
Investments in the two companies’ common platform in India is one of the joint projects that should be part of the wider deal, a source told Reuters.
The future shape of the Franco-Japanese alliance has implications for both companies as well as their junior partner, Mitsubishi Motors Corp. It also highlights how the immense technological upheaval in the auto industry is forcing companies to both partner and compete with a dizzying number of newcomers and tech firms.
Renault, for instance, has said it will partner with companies from China’s Geely Automobile Holdings to semiconductor giant Qualcomm Inc.
Renault is separately working to finalise a deal with Geely and to bring in Saudi Arabian state oil producer Aramco as an investor and partner to develop gasoline engines and hybrid technologies, Reuters has reported.
Nissan has been concerned that the technology it has developed while partnered with Renault could leak to the French automaker’s partners as it restructures, Reuters has reported.
(Reporting by Gilles Guillaume in Paris and Norihiko Shirouzo in Tokyo; writing by Silvia Aloisi; Editing by Richard Lough, Kirsten Donovan)