With the recent talks of Nissan wanting to merge with Honda, it makes sense to wonder where Renault fits into all of that. As a reminder, Renault is part of what is officially known as the Renault-Nissan-Mitsubishi Alliance. Renault owns a 36-percent stake in Nissan and remains its largest shareholder. What does it think of Nissan’s strategy to merge with a local competitor as important as Honda?
According to a recent report from Automotrive News, which apparently obtained information from sources close to the matter, Renault is fine with it. But it’s still not clear what this will all mean for the future of the Alliance. Whatever happens to Nissan, Renault will, first and foremost, protect its own interests.
Renault Wants Nissan To Be Stronger To Face Chinese Carmakers Like BYD
The most important element for Renault at this stage is for Nissan to secure a partnership that will allow it to be stronger as it faces new challenges from Chinese carmakers such as BYD. This could mean that Nissan would need to partner up not just with Honda, but with another strategic player such as Taiwan’s Foxconn, which has apparently also approached Nissan to take a controlling stake.
But it’s all way too early to truly know where this will all go in the near future. For now, Renault is observing the situation closely, but it’s not against the concept of reinforcing the Alliance with the addition of both Honda and Foxconn. Mitsubishi is also an important piece of this puzzle. The Japanese automaker openly stated, along with Nissan and Honda, earlier this morning in Japan, that all three companies are currently discussing a possible collaboration to join forces.
This is all happening at a time when all three Japanese carmakers are finding themselves being non-competitive in the electric vehicle (EV) space against important Chinese automakers, but also South Korea’s Hyundai Group, as well as Tesla and General Motors.
Renault Could Part Ways With Nissan
There is also a possibility that Renault could eventually exit the Alliance altogether. The theoretical, but highly probable Honda-Nissan-Mitsubishi merger could also kick Renault out in an attempt to reinforce Japanese protectionism. Honda is not just considering a merger with Nissan, but also a capital tie-up or the establishment of a holding company. A new automotive partner for Nissan could mean it could question shared projects with its French partner. It’s worth underlying that in 2020, the two automakers rolled back several collaborations.
Renault’s Chairman, Jean-Dominique Senard, also said earlier this year that the company would welcome new partnerships that could make the grouping of automakers stronger. That could mean many things. Renault could remain with its Japanese partners, reinforced by new players. Or it could also walk away and partner up with other European brands as a result of the Stellantis meltdown. With protectionism now running full swing around the world, the idea of an all-French Renault, Peugeot, Citroën and DS alliance isn’t so far-fetched. We’ll keep following the highly intriguing Nissan-Honda merger affair and will report back here once we know more.
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