Nissan is developing growth plans in areas such as software and electric vehicles independent of Renault SA as the automakers work to finalise terms of a sharply limited alliance, said seven people with knowledge of the matter.
The revelations come as the alliance oversight board met this week to discuss a rebalance that will see Renault cut its stake in Nissan to 15 per cent from 43 per cent - matching the size of Nissan's stake in Renault - and Nissan gain reciprocal voting rights. While Nissan sees continued savings in shared parts procurement with Renault, it has no plan to provide engineering support to Ampere, said two of the people, who all asked not to be identified because talks between the pair are ongoing.
In a joint statement to Reuters, Nissan and Renault said they were working toward final partnership terms that would make them more competitive. They said they planned to detail already-announced cooperative projects for India and Latin America. Nissan will invest and provide technology for the venture but will limit its operational involvement, one of the people told Reuters. If Ampere developed technology of interest for Europe, Nissan would look to buy it separately, the person said.The stance marks a hard stop for the vision of Carlos Ghosn, who formerly headed both Renault and Nissan and pushed deeper integration over the objections of some Nissan executives.