Nissan and Renault to Rebalance Power in Race for Electric Cars
Ben Dooley
The automakers said they would resolve a yearslong dispute that became the backdrop to Carlos Ghosn’s downfall as head of the alliance.
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Two giant automakers tied in an uneasy alliance — Japan’s Nissan and France’s Renault — announced on Monday that they had struck a deal to make their relationship more equitable, ending a yearslong power struggle that contributed to the downfall of the alliance’s former leader, Carlos Ghosn.

The agreement opens a path for the companies to increase cooperation in the growing market for electric vehicles, a critical area for the alliance as it seeks to respond to changing regulations and the challenges posed by upstart competitors like Tesla and China’s BYD, which have vaulted past traditional automakers in the race to meet consumer demand for battery-powered cars.

Nissan said that the agreement was “an important milestone in its discussions with Renault Group on defining new foundations for their partnership,” which has been dominated by the French automaker since 1999, when it bailed out the foundering Japanese company.

Renault eventually built up a 43 percent stake in Nissan with voting rights on its board, while Nissan held only a 15 percent stake in Renault and no voting rights.

The arrangement has long been a sore spot for Nissan, which produces far more cars than Renault and argued it deserved to have a more equivalent role in the relationship.

The agreement, Nissan said, would effectively equalize the companies’ shareholdings. Both would now hold 15 percent of the other, with Renault’s additional shares going into a French trust. The trust would be under no obligation to sell them, it said.

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