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Carlos Ghosn says his family played no role in escape from Japan

Men guard a vehicle as it arrives at the home where former Nissan Chairman Carlos Ghosn is staying in Beirut, Lebanon, Thursday. / AP   BEIRUT — The family of former Nissan boss Carlos Ghosn played no role in his escape from Japan, Ghosn said in a statement on Thursday, days after his abrupt arrival in Beirut from Tokyo, where he faces trial for alleged financial misconduct. "There has been speculation in the media that my wife Carole, and other members of my family played a role in my departure from Japan. All such speculation is inaccurate and false," said the statement. "I alone arranged for my departure. My family had no role whatsoever." Sources close to Ghosn said he was prompted to flee after a recent court session in which he learned that the second of two trials would be delayed until April 2021. "They [prosecutors] said they needed another whole year to prepare for it. ... He was distressed about not being able to see or speak to his wife," one of the sources close to Ghosn said. A request to see or speak to his wife over Christmas was also denied, the sources added, part of strict conditions set on his bail. The sources said Ghosn had grown distressed that authorities were pressuring his family to draw a confession from him after his daughter and son were questioned by Japanese prosecutors in the United States in early December. Government/Legal Nissan Renault

Nissan CEO plans to deliver 'raw details of the misconduct' to Renault

TOKYO/PARIS — Nissan Motor's CEO plans to meet one-on-one with the deputy CEO of automaking partner Renault in Amsterdam this week, sources told Reuters, amid tensions over the future of the alliance after Chairman Carlos Ghosn's arrest last month. The meeting would be the first face-to-face interaction between Nissan's Hiroto Saikawa and Renault's Thierry Bollore since Ghosn was arrested on Nov. 19 in Tokyo. It would take place alongside regular top-level, monthly talks between the partners and Mitsubishi Motor Corp that will be held over two days from Tuesday, according to one of the sources familiar with the matter. Saikawa, who took over from Ghosn as CEO last year, is planning to discuss at the meeting with Bollore possible changes to the partnership's management and operations with an eye to continuing the alliance, another source who is close to Nissan's management said. The talks in Amsterdam could provide Saikawa with an opportunity to try and convince Renault executives of the gravity of Ghosn's alleged misconduct discovered during an in-house investigation by the Japanese automaker. They are being held a day after Saikawa rebuffed a demand from Renault for an extraordinary shareholder meeting that would have offered the French car maker a chance to weigh in on Ghosn's replacement as chairman and on other Nissan board appointments. Mitsubishi Chairman Osamu Masuko said late on Monday he will attend the Amsterdam meetings via video conference. A Nissan spokesman said Saikawa would attend meetings with alliance partners in Amsterdam from Tuesday, but declined to comment on the possibility of the one-on-one meeting with Bollore. Ghosn was charged last week alongside alleged accomplice Greg Kelly and Nissan itself over the company's failure to declare $43 million in deferred income that Ghosn had arranged to be paid while chairman and CEO. Both men remain in custody. The scandal has shaken the Renault-Nissan-Mitsubishi alliance, with Saikawa calling for changes to weaken Renault's control as he moved to oust Ghosn in the week of his arrest. Renault directors were briefed last week on the Nissan investigation that led to Ghosn's arrest but reiterated their earlier decision to keep him in office as chairman and CEO. But the Renault board has yet to be given direct access to Nissan's findings, which are being closely held by Renault lawyers answering to Ghosn's long-standing chief of staff and head of legal affairs at Renault, Mouna Sepehri.

How Renault, Fiat Chrysler, and yes, Nissan, could save through sharing

If French automaker Renault green-lights a proposed merger with Fiat Chrysler Automobiles, the companies almost immediately could begin saving money by consolidating components and basic structures on many of their most popular vehicles, an industry analyst said on Tuesday. The synergies could multiply if they invite Japanese automaker Nissan, currently Renault's alliance partner, to join the merger, according to a former Renault and Nissan executive. Renault and Italian-American rival Fiat Chrysler Automobiles are in talks to tackle the costs of far-reaching technological and regulatory changes by creating the world's third-biggest automaker. A Renault-Fiat Chrysler combination "would mean a greater sharing of parts (which) could really boost the profitability of Fiat Chrysler's smaller vehicles," said Sam Fiorani, vice president, AutoForecast Solutions. Building similar models on a common vehicle architecture, Fiorani said, "would give both companies a lot more freedom in manufacturing. They could mix brands and vehicle sizes on the same assembly line, switch vehicles between plants to balance production, and even shift production from one country to another, depending on changes in demand, tariffs or other considerations." Fiorani said Fiat Chrysler could benefit from sharing the French automaker's expertise in electric vehicles and powertrains, where Renault and Nissan have jointly invested more than $5 billion. These are areas in which Fiat Chrysler has little in the way of components or intellectual property. Another sector that is ripe for consolidation is light commercial vehicles, where Renault and Fiat Chrysler could build a variety of vans in several sizes on common platforms that could be assembled and sold in global markets. Ford Motor Co and Volkswagen AG began their alliance discussions a year ago by focusing on potential collaboration in light commercial vehicles. Getting Nissan's blessing Fiorani said Renault's CMF architecture, which was jointly developed with Nissan and underpins many of Renault's passenger cars and crossovers, could be used by Fiat Chrysler on a wide variety of vehicles. As an example, he said the CMF could provide a new single foundation for at least five Jeep models, including the Renegade, Compass and Cherokee, which now are based on four different platforms.