Renault and Nissan Forge Deeper Alliance

10 years, 8 months ago - 19 March 2014, Autoblog

If the automotive industry's current era could be summarized by one trend – from a corporate aspect, anyway – surely it would be conglomeration. But of all the major auto groups that have emerged over the past several years, none have kept themselves at arm's length quite like the Renault-Nissan Alliance.

Much like Fiat and Chrysler, Renault and Nissan are presided over by a common chief executive. But whereas Sergio Marchionne's Italian-American alliance has moved swiftly from a transatlantic partnership to a merged company in the span of less than five years, Carlos Ghosn's Franco-Japanese alliance has stood oceans apart since 1999. But now the Renault-Nissan Alliance is following the lead set by Fiat Chrysler Automobiles in bridging that distance through several key measures.

For one, Renault and Nissan will make increased use of common platforms, R&D, systems and testing. The two automakers will also cooperate more closely on manufacturing and supply chain management, purchasing and human resources. To manage the increased cooperation, the alliance has appointed several new executive vice presidents from within its ow ranks and a new management committee to be chaired by Ghosn.