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French investigators will question Carlos Ghosn in Lebanon

BEIRUT — A team of French investigators will come to Beirut next month to participate in interrogating former Renault-Nissan boss Carlos Ghosn, a Lebanese justice ministry official said Saturday. The official gave no specific date or details of what information the investigators would seek from Ghosn. Former auto executive Ghosn, who is a Lebanese, Brazilian and French national, fled Japan in a dramatic escape that drew headlines last year, arriving in Lebanon on Dec. 30, 2019. In addition to his trial in Japan, the 66-year-old businessman is facing a number of legal challenges in France, including tax evasion and alleged money laundering, fraud and misuse of company assets while at the helm of the Renault-Nissan alliance. The Lebanese official, speaking on condition of anonymity in line with regulations, said the French investigators would be working alongside their Lebanese counterparts. Information about investigations is secret under French law, and French judicial officials did not respond to requests for comment Saturday on the report. After leading the Japanese automaker Nissan for two decades, Ghosn was arrested in Japan in November 2018 on charges of breach of trust, misusing company assets for personal gains and violating securities laws by not fully disclosing his compensation. He denied wrongdoing and fled Japan while out on bail awaiting trial. He is unlikely to be extradited from Lebanon, where he has been since last year. At least two Ghosn-related investigations were opened in France. One focused on suspicious transactions between Renault and a distributor in Oman, as well as suspected payments for private trips and events paid by Renault-NissanÂ’s Netherlands-based holding company RNBV. Another investigation focused on suspected misuse of company funds for a party for Ghosn at Versailles. The French inquiry aims to determine who is at fault for a string of alleged financial violations between 2009 and 2020. That includes “suspicious financial flows” between Renault and the SBA car dealership in Oman. This aspect of the inquiry is targeting several million euros of travel and other costs paid by the Netherlands-based Renault-Nissan holding RNBV but suspected to have been for GhosnÂ’s personal use. GhosnÂ’s French lawyers have said the payments to SBA were “justified bonuses” for having boosted car sales in the Persian Gulf and denied allegations that the funds benefited Ghosn or his family personally.

Renault-Nissan-Mitsubishi adopts Android infotainment in coup for Google

PARIS — The Renault-Nissan-Mitsubishi carmaking alliance said on Tuesday it will adopt Alphabet's Google Android operating system, handing a victory to the U.S. tech giant as it pushes for a bigger share of the infotainment market. Renault, Nissan and Mitsubishi, with combined sales of 10.6 million vehicles last year, said future models will "integrate Google applications and services" including Maps and the voice-commanded Google Assistant. The move, first reported by the Wall Street Journal, leans more heavily on Big Tech than large or luxury rival carmakers have hitherto been willing to do. Many fear losing control of customer relationships, data and potentially significant future revenue from connected services. Some smaller manufacturers such as Volvo Cars have decided to embed Android Auto in their vehicles. But the scale of the shift by Renault-Nissan-Mitsubishi may cause a broader rethink of costly standalone tech strategies. "Major carmakers earlier were reluctant to do business with Google, but this has now changed," said Jauke de Jong, a research analyst at AFS Group in Amsterdam. "More carmakers could follow suit and partner with Google." Until now, carmakers have largely chosen Linux, Microsoft or QNX software to power infotainment. That yields clunkier platforms they can control, but which offer little scope to add new apps or functionality. Far more than just hooking up a phone The news may spell trouble for certain existing auto-tech suppliers such as mapping specialist TomTom, which counts Renault among its customers. Shares in the Dutch group fell by more than quarter after the announcement. In return for handing Google the infotainment keys, the alliance will bring the full clout of Android's thousands of apps to its brands' lineups — which include a strong contingent of affordably priced, no-frills models for emerging markets. The partnership promises "rich user experiences that are currently available only outside the vehicle or, to a limited extent, by connecting an Android device to supported vehicles," alliance development chief Hadi Zablit said. While many volume carmakers offer infotainment "mirroring" to pair with Apple iPhones or Android smartphones, premium rivals such as BMW and Daimler's Mercedes-Benz are investing heavily in their own operating systems, vocal assistants and connected services.

Renault will split EV from combustion unit, seeks partnerships

PARIS — Renault has received several partnership proposals for the combustion engine unit it plans to create alongside one dedicated to electric vehicles and software, two sources familiar with the matter said. Renault plans to separate its electric and conventional car businesses, creating two entities to manage the shift towards fossil-free vehicles. "The group has already received partnership demands" for its internal combustion engine unit, one of the sources said. By bringing in partners on the combustion engine side Renault aims to free up funds to invest in electric vehicles, a technology in which it was a pioneer with Nissan and Mitsubishi, but in which it is now eclipsed by pure players such as Tesla. Renault intends to retain majority ownership of its electric division, which will employ about 10,000 people and which could be bourse-listed via an IPO in the second half of 2023. However, it will only remain a reference shareholder, not a controlling shareholder, of the combustion engine unit, which will have similar staff levels, said two other sources familiar with the plans. One of the sources said Renault may hang on to a 40% stake. Renault declined to comment. The carmaker at a capital market day this autumn will set out its plans for its electric arm based in France and the combustion unit headquartered abroad. That entity will include factories producing engines and gear boxes for gasoline and hybrid cars in Spain, Portugal, Turkey, Romania and Latin America. Among potential partners for its combustion engine business, CEO Luca de Meo in April mentioned Nissan, other automotive groups and long-term investors. De Meo is set to travel to Japan next month to discuss potential Japanese participation in its electric and combustion engine projects. Renault is undergoing a major restructuring aimed at restoring its finances and recently signed partnerships beyond its historical alliances with Nissan, Mitsubishi and Mercedes, such as with China's Geely Automobile Holdings. This month it sold 34% of its South Korean unit to Geely, which owns Volvo Cars and is a shareholder in Mercedes. With Geely, Renault plans to develop hybrid vehicles which will be assembled in its plant in Busan, South Korea. Earnings/Financials Green Mitsubishi Nissan Renault