Nissan looks set to pull out from a venture fund that it operates with partners Renault and Mitsubishi, Reuters reports.
Two sources claim that as the Japanese car manufacturer aims to cut costs and conserve cash, it will likely leave the fund, shortly after Mitsubishi confirmed it will no longer continue to inject money into the fund, dubbed Alliance Ventures. Nissan is tipped to make a formal decision by the end of this month.
Speaking on the matter, an anonymous source said “Of course we’re out. The house is on fire.” Neither Nissan nor Mitsubishi are commenting on news that they are backing away from the fund.
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Nissan is in the midst of a crisis that’s been heightened by the ongoing coronavirus. Sales of Nissan vehicles plunged by 80 per cent in China last month.
Alliance Ventures was established under former alliance head Carlos Ghosn and was set up with an initial $200 million investment and had been aiming to get $1 billion in funds by 2023. Companies in the fund’s portfolio include Chinese robo-taxi startup WeRide and cloud-based car retail platform Tekion Corp.
“It wasn’t established by Ghosn as a way to make money. It was for those learning opportunities we get from investing in smart startups,” a source said when describing the fund. “But given the tough financial situation we are facing, we are looking at investment return.”
