Renault and Nissan put an end to information sharing, new stage of the alliance

2023-11-08 10:48:28

After more than 20 years of existence, this is unprecedented. Employees of the car manufacturer Renault have been called upon to stop sharing their files and data with the Japanese manufacturers Nissan and Mitsubishi since November 6. A further step in the softening of their alliance.

« The Renault Nissan alliance ends on November 6. So from this date, no more communication with Nissan », It is indicated in an internal email from the management of a department, which AFP was able to consult.

Renault, Nissan and Mitsubishi « will now act independently and as competitors », « no information can anymore be exchanged, with the exception of strictly supervised cases », It is specified in another email, from the training department of one of the Renault sites.

The logical continuation of a reorganization

This decision is part of the reorganization of the Renault-Nissan Alliance – to which Mitsubishi has belonged since 2016 – announced at the start of the year and intended to be less fusional and more egalitarian.

Concretely, the companies have concluded a new 15-year agreement according to which they will have a “ 15% cross-ownership », while previously Renault held 43.4% of Nissan. They also announced the end of their joint purchasing center, a drastic change compared to its old version, where it occupied a fundamental place.

According to a source close to the matter, who confirms the cessation of shared libraries and data between the two manufacturers, this step constitutes the logical continuation of the reduction of Renault’s participation in Nissan, as required by anti-trust laws.

Concern among Renault employees

« We have always been competitors in the market, this word competition is not new “, affirmed the same source, tempering the emails. “ We are heading towards a new chapter of the Alliance, but which does not have the same form », she added, rejecting the term « divorce » brandished by worried unions.

« We’re not going to hide it, this is a divorce that’s been recorded, it’s an open secret », Fabien Gloaguen, FO union representative from Renault in Sandouville, told AFP. “ We are not here to judge Renault’s strategy “, he added, but the evolution of the Alliance ” lack of clarity ».

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The trade unionist is particularly concerned about “ uncertainty » which hovers around the future of the 1,400 employees working at the joint purchasing center or in the French Renault factories, producing Nissan cars among others, such as in Maubeuge, Batilly and Sandouville.

Contacted by AFP, the group indicated that no employee of the purchasing center would be laid off and that “ reorganization is underway “. He reaffirmed that the vehicles whose construction Nissan has entrusted to Renault will continue to be manufactured in its French factories, and that the manufacturers will continue to exchange data on their joint projects.

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Good momentum for Renault and Nissan

This new stage of the alliance takes place in a context where Renault has confirmed its objectives for the year, with turnover up 7.6% in the third quarter, mainly thanks to the increase in prices of its models. . The Losange group achieved 10.5 billion euros in sales, almost 90% of which was driven by its Automotive turnover (+5%), with 511,000 vehicles sold worldwide.

« We entered the last quarter of the year with confidence », Said financial director Thierry Piéton, quoted in the press release. However, investors sanctioned Renault on the stock market on the day these results were published on Thursday October 19. The stock fell 6.79% to 33.62 euros around 3 p.m. that day. The turnover is in fact lower than expected by analysts surveyed by the Bloomberg agency, who expected 10.77 billion euros.

Nissan revises its annual results forecast upwards despite the drop in sales in China

On the Nissan side, the economic trend is rather good. The Japanese group’s net profit for the April-June period totaled 105.5 billion yen, a result more than doubled over one year (+123.9%). Its quarterly operating profit almost doubled year-on-year to 128.6 billion yen and its turnover increased by 36.5%.

But China, whose automobile market is electrifying at high speed and where competition from local brands has become formidable, is Nissan’s big drawback. The Japanese manufacturer now anticipates a drop of 23.4% in its volume sales in 2023/24 in this crucial market for it. Nissan has therefore lowered its annual forecast for global sales volume to 3.7 million units (+12% year-on-year), compared to a target of 4 million units formulated in May.

(With AFP)