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Nissan, Renault reveal how they'll reshape alliance to cut costs, regain profit

TOKYO — The auto alliance of Nissan and Renault said Wednesday it will be sharing more vehicle parts, technology and models to save costs as the industry struggles to survive the coronavirus pandemic. Alliance Operating Board Chairman Jean-Dominique Senard said the group, which also includes smaller Japanese automaker Mitsubishi, will have each company focusing on geographic regions. “There is no plan for a merger of our companies,” the chairman said. “Our model today is a very distinctive model ... we donÂ’t need a merger to be efficient.” He stressed the alliance needs to adjust to the “unprecedented economic crisis,” to pursue efficiency and competitiveness, not sheer sales volumes. “Now is the time to rebuild,” Senard said, making clear he believed the alliance remained strong. All automakers are suffering from the pandemic, and scaling back or suspending production, but Nissan was reeling before the crisis struck from a scandal involving its former chairman, Carlos Ghosn. Yokohama-based Nissan is due to report its annual results on Thursday and has forecast it will slip into its first yearly loss in 11 years. Under the latest so-called leader-follower initiative, Nissan will focus on China, North America and Japan; Renault on Europe, Russia and South America and North Africa, and Mitsubishi on Southeast Asia and Oceania, for the benefit of the entire alliance. Nissan Chief Executive Makoto Uchida said the alliance planned to pursue fiscal strength together. “The synergy is huge,” he said. The number of vehicles sharing the same platform will double by 2024, saving 2 billion euros ($2.2 billion), according to Senard. The shared technology will also include electric cars and autonomous driving, platforms and car bodies, the executives said. Nissan is a leader in electric cars with its Leaf, but such technology will be available to the other alliance members, they said. The companies gave few details of how the revamp would deliver in the short term, as the car industry grapples with the fallout from the coronavirus pandemic and pressure to develop less polluting vehicles. They said in a joint statement that they aimed to produce nearly half of their vehicles under the new leader-follower approach by 2025 and hoped to cut investment per model in the scheme by up to 40%. The range of vehicles they produce is expected to fall by 20% by 2025 though the firms did not say how many jobs would go as they shift production.

Auditor had questioned Nissan on payments in Ghosn scandal, source says

TOKYO — Nissan's auditor had repeatedly questioned transactions at the heart of allegations of financial misconduct by former chief Carlos Ghosn, but Nissan said they were proper, a person with direct knowledge of the matter said on Wednesday. Ernst & Young ShinNihon LLC questioned Nissan's management several times, chiefly around 2013, about purchases of overseas luxury homes for Ghosn's personal use and of stock-appreciation rights that were conferred on him. But the Japanese automaker said the transactions and financial reporting were appropriate, the source told Reuters on condition of anonymity. The revelation shows Nissan and its auditor were discussing the transactions, in apparent contrast with Nissan's contention that the alleged misreporting of benefits for Ghosn was masterminded by Ghosn and a key lieutenant. A spokesman for EY ShinNihon, the Japanese affiliate of global accounting firm Ernst & Young, said he could not comment on specific cases. A Nissan spokesman declined to comment. Ghosn was arrested on Nov. 19 as he arrived in Japan. Prosecutors accuse him of falsifying Nissan's annual reports to understate by about half his total compensation of some 10 billion yen ($90 million) over several years. The high-profile former executive has denied the allegations, according to Japanese media. Ghosn remains in custody and is unable to speak publicly. He is represented by former prosecutor Motonari Otsuru, according to Japanese media. Otsuru's law firm declined to comment on Wednesday, and Otsuru has not responded to requests for comment. Nissan has largely pinned the blame on Ghosn and Greg Kelly, a former representative director who was arrested along with Ghosn on the same allegations. "As a result of the investigation, we are certain these two are the masterminds," CEO Hiroto Saikawa told a news conference on Nov. 19, referring to Ghosn and Kelly. He declined to say whether others at Nissan were involved in the alleged wrongdoing. An internal investigation is ongoing, and Nissan says it is cooperating with prosecutors. Nissan and Mitsubishi Motors have removed Ghosn as chairman in the wake of his arrest. The French member of the three-firm alliance, Renault, retains him as chairman and CEO.

Mitsubishi Motors Chairman Masuko resigns due to health reasons

Osamu Masuko (Getty Images)   TOKYO — Mitsubishi Motors said on Friday Osamu Masuko resigned as chairman due to health reasons and has handed over the role to CEO Takao Kato on a temporary basis. A veteran of the larger Mitsubishi conglomerate, Masuko joined the automaker in 2004 and became president in 2007. He oversaw the creation of the partnership between Mitsubishi and Nissan in 2016, which saw Nissan take a controlling stake in the company. The 71-year-old will stay on at Mitsubishi as a special adviser, the company said in a statement. It did not specify what Masuko was ailing from. Masuko was at the helm of Mitsubishi during a 2016 scandal in which the automaker was found to have overstated the fuel economy on its vehicles. An investigation uncovered slack governance and pressure on resourced-starved engineers as chronic issues at the company. CEO Takao Kato adds the role of chairman. (Getty Images)   The scandal was Mitsubishi's third in two decades, and it pummeled profits and tarnished the automaker' s brand. At the height of the scandal, Nissan lent its smaller rival a lifeline by offering the company $2.2 billion for a 34% controlling stake. The deal was agreed between Masuko and then Nissan CEO Carlos Ghosn, and brought Mitsubishi in as a junior partner in the Nissan-Renault automaking alliance. Masuko later denounced his ties with Ghosn following Ghosn's 2018 arrest in Japan over financial misconduct, charges that Ghosn has denied. All three members of the alliance are currently mired in financial problems after years of aggressive expansion policies under Ghosn's leadership resulted in falling vehicle sales. A further drop in global car demand due to the coronavirus pandemic has exacerbated these problems, and Mitsubishi, Nissan and Renault are each bracing for steep annual operating losses this year. Related Video: