© Reuters. FILE PHOTO: The logos of car manufacturers Nissan and Renault are displayed at a dealership in Kyiv, Ukraine, June 25, 2020. REUTERS/Valentyn Ogirenko/File Photo
By Norihiko Shirouzu, Gilles Guillaume and Maki Shiraki
TOKYO/PARIS (Reuters) – French car manufacturer renault (EPA:) and its Japanese partner Nissan (OTC:) Motor aim to formally present an agreement to reshape their alliance in London on February 6, two sources close to the matter told Reuters on Thursday.
The leaders of the two companies met via video link for an alliance board meeting on Thursday following months of intense negotiations over how to re-establish their long-standing partnership. They opted for that format, rather than have Renault CEO Luca de Meo and Chairman Jean-Dominique Senard travel to Japan, because talks have progressed well, sources previously told Reuters.
A third source close to the matter said Thursday’s meeting had gone “smoothly” but there were details that still needed to be ironed out.
“As of today, we cannot say that we have reached an agreement,” said the source, who spoke on condition of anonymity because the talks are confidential.
The source added that there was no major rift between the two companies and negotiations were unlikely to break down. But he also said the February 6 date for an announcement was not yet set in stone.
The boards of the two companies would still have to individually approve a potential deal after Thursday’s meeting.
Renault is looking to the Japanese automaker to invest in its new electric vehicle business, while Nissan wants Renault, its largest shareholder, to sell its roughly 43% stake and put the 23-year-old alliance on a more equal footing.
Renault has consistently refused to comment publicly on the talks with its Japanese partner, while a Nissan spokesman declined to comment on Thursday.
The two companies are expected to announce five joint projects to relaunch the alliance, covering manufacturing, technology and further geographic development, including in India, one of the sources told Reuters.
It was not immediately clear whether already announced deals to produce the successor to the Nissan Micra at a Renault plant in France and junior alliance partner Mitsubishi Motors (OTC:) Corp’s new ASX and Colt at Renault plants in Spain and Turkey would be considered part of those five projects.
Renault boss de Meo said the company had proposed working together on 10-15 projects.
The future shape of the Franco-Japanese alliance has implications for both the companies and Mitsubishi Motors. It also highlights how the immense technological upheaval in the auto industry is forcing companies to partner and compete with a dizzying number of newcomers and tech companies.
Renault, for example, has said it will partner with companies from China’s Geely Automobile Holdings (OTC:) to semiconductor giant Qualcomm (NASDAQ:) Inc.
Renault is working separately to finalize a deal with Geely and bring in Saudi Arabia’s state oil producer Aramco (TADAWUL:) as an investor and partner to develop gasoline engine and hybrid technologies, Reuters reported.
Nissan is concerned that technology it has developed while partnering with Renault could leak to the French automaker’s partners as it restructures, Reuters reported.
However, one of the sources who spoke to Reuters on Thursday said those concerns had already been addressed.
