Renault SA’s talks with Nissan Motor Co. is one of the topics French President Emmanuel Macron is due to discuss with Japan’s Prime Minister Fumio Kishida after discussions stalled late last year, according to people familiar with the situation.
(Bloomberg) — Renault SA’s talks with Nissan Motor Co. is one of the topics French President Emmanuel Macron is due to discuss with Japan’s Prime Minister Fumio Kishida after discussions stalled late last year, according to people familiar with the situation.
Macron will sound out Kishida on the status of the talks during a meeting Monday and may warn the French carmaker is starting to lose patience on clinching an agreement to reshape a two-decade old alliance, said the people, asking not to be identified as the talks are ongoing. Renault had targeted a deal late last year.
The two leaders closely follow all industrial cooperation between France and Japan, including in the automotive industry, which will be an area of discussion, an Elysee official said, declining to elaborate.
Renault Chief Executive Officer Luca de Meo wants to push on with a strategic plan, including a carve-out of the carmaker’s electric-vehicle business, even if a deal takes longer to reach, the people said. While Macron in the past had hoped Renault would ultimately buy Nissan, the French president is aware such a move won’t happen, one person said. Industrial cooperation between the partners remains important at a time of profound change for the industry, the person said.
Media representatives for Renault and Nissan declined to comment on the talks.
The talks between the two companies have been taking longer than expected to resolve sticking points on how to address shared intellectual property, the French carmaker’s EV carveout and Renault’s plans to partner with China’s Zhejiang Geely Holding Co. on its legacy combustion-engine business, Bloomberg reported last month.
Negotiations between the pair have resumed after a short break due to the year-end holidays, the people said. De Meo is trying to focus on specific projects the two companies could collaborate on as a way to move forward, the people said, while he’s unwilling to put Renault’s strategy on hold if Nissan continues delaying decisions, they said.
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