Renault and Nissan Chief Engineers to Meet in Japan to Discuss Joint Operations

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Written on Jan 26, 2020

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Chief engineers to meet and discuss future mutual projects amid increased tensions between two companies
Former Chairman Carlos Ghosn is one of those who believe that the partnership will fall apart
Renault to appoint new CEO, who used to lead Spanish’s carmaker SEAT

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Renault and Nissan’s chief engineers are set to meet in Japan this week, as the two companies seek to revive the partnership and put the Carlos Ghosn era behind.

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The Renault-Nissan alliance has had its issues since the ouster and arrest of Ghosn, the person who created this partnership.

Ghosn thinks that the alliance might fall apart, and in order to prevent that from happening, analysts believe that automakers need to work on mutual projects.

Renault has recently hired Gilles Le Borgne, an engineer who worked for the rival carmaker PSA Group. Le Borgne is set to meet Tsuyoshi Yamaguchi, the chief engineer of Nissan, responsible for delivering the joint engineering projects.

Saving the alliance is of crucial importance to both companies as the automotive industry struggles with a slowdown and large investments in automated driving.

“The alliance has taken a hit, but the alliance engineering team is still there,” said another source close to both companies. “You cannot, from one day to the next, stop something that’s been embedded so deeply.”

CEO of Renault Jean-Dominique Senard has said both companies want to keep the alliance alive, and that joint projects are a primary objective.

The board of the alliance, including Japanese automaker Mitsubishi will discuss the details of those projects at the regular meeting in Japan scheduled for January 30.

One of the fields that joint projects will cover is hybrid power systems. According to the analysts, the French-Japanese alliance has not effectively combined their research on this subject, as each of the three carmakers has built their own hybrid power systems.

“That’s been among the sources of the friction,” said a source close to the carmakers. “But now the three systems are there, we’ll need to use them in the most efficient way possible.”

Renault will allegedly appoint Luca de Meo to be the new Chief Executive, according to Le Parisien reports. He used to work at Volkswagen AG before becoming the president of the Spanish carmaker SEAT.