Renault, Nissan clear calendar for potential deal, report says

Renault and Nissan are preparing plans to announce a potential deal for the restructured alliance in London as early as next month, with the companies still negotiating terms, three people familiar with the negotiations said. told Reuters.

Renault chairman Jean-Dominique Senard said on Tuesday he was “confident” that the French automaker and Nissan could reach an agreement on a restructured partnership as Renault considers splitting its electric car business. said.

The two sides are still in talks, according to people familiar with the talks. Renault is asking Nissan to invest in an EV business codenamed Ampere, the companies said.

At the same time, Nissan is considering Renault selling its approximately 43% stake in Nissan, which would put the two partners on a more equal footing, Reuters previously reported.

France’s dominance in the alliance has long been a point of contention for Nissan’s management, which owns only a 15% stake in Renault and has no voting rights.

Although no agreement has been reached, Renault and Nissan have outlined plans for two potential windows to be announced in the coming weeks. London on the 7th.

That would be two days after the meeting of the chief executives of Renault, Nissan and Mitsubishi, the junior partner of the trilateral alliance, scheduled in Paris, they said.

If more time is needed for negotiations, the two companies can opt to meet after a week and will be gearing up for an announcement in London next week, the sources said.

Senard declined to comment on the timing of the deal. Nissan said it would not comment on speculation. Mitsubishi declined to comment.

Sharing intellectual property is one of Nissan’s concerns, said a person involved in the negotiations.

Earlier this month, Renault and Chinese automaker Geely signed a binding agreement to launch a new, equally-owned joint venture to supply gasoline engines and hybrid technology to their brands and potentially other automakers. He said no agreement had been reached.

The deal represents the second half of an overhaul of the business Renault intends to split its petrol engine business, codenamed ‘Hose’, from its electric drive division at a time when investors and regulators are pushing to invest in clean. there is energy car. Europe will effectively ban the sale of combustion engines from 2035.

Nissan and Renault are in daily talks aimed at resolving a complex range of issues, including legal and regulatory reviews, by mid-December if possible, said two people familiar with the talks. a person familiar with the matter told Reuters.

Mitsubishi Motors will not make a decision on whether to invest in Ampere separately until Nissan finishes negotiations with Renault, said a person familiar with the position.