France And Japan To Discuss The Future Of The Renault-Nissan Alliance

France and Japan are set to discuss the future of the Renault-Nissan alliance following the recent ousting of long-time chairman Carlos Ghosn.

Automotive News reports that French President Emmanuel Macron and Japanese Prime Minister Shinzo Abe will discuss the issue during the G20 summit in Argentina. The French government has a 15 per cent stake in Renault, while Renault controls Nissan with its 43 per cent stake and Nissan holds a 15 per cent non-voting stake in Renault.

The French government has said that it wants to retain the current capital structure for the alliance. Speaking to French television, French Finance Minister Bruno Le Maire claimed that he and Japanese Industry Minister Hiroshige Seko had agreed that keeping the alliance’s existing capital structure was desirable. However, Seko has since denied this and sent a letter of protest to Le Maire for his remarks.

Following the arrest of Ghosn, Nissan has asserted that Renault has too much control over it. In 2015, Macron instructed the French government to increase its stake in Renault to 15 per cent, raising concerns from Nissan that France may start to yield too much influence over the Japanese economy.

Authorities in Tokyo revealed on Friday that Ghosn’s detention had been increased by a maximum 10-day extension. To keep the influential automotive figure in custody, prosecutors must file charges against him or arrest him on suspicion of new crimes.

Carlos Ghosn was arrested on November 19 in Japan on charges of not reporting his full compensation. He was quickly ousted by both Nissan and Mitsubishi as chairman, but Renault has kept him as chief executive and chairman for the time being.