Leading car industry executive Carlos Ghosn has said he did not expect many tie-up deals in the industry until the financial environment had stabilised.
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The head of Renault and Nissan Motor had been by Les Echos weekly whether the car industry crisis would lead to new alliances among the makers.
“I do not think that you will see many initiatives of that sort as long as the financial systems have not stabilised,” he said, according to Reuters.
Ghosn rejected the suggestion that carmakers were holding up a begging bowl to governments for financial help.
“We are not asking for money. We just need loans. The banks do not want to lend us money – or only at prohibitive rates. Last year we obtained rates of 3.5 to 4%. Today we get offered rates of 9%,” he said.
“If one wants to avoid a social drama, we need access to credit at reasonable rates and if I say that I am thinking in particular about the employees of Renault,” he said.
Renault said earlier this month it expected market conditions to worsen in 2009 and had abandoned as “unachievable” commitments on volumes and operating margins made under Renault Commitment 2009.
Its priorities this year would be to control working capital requirements, in particular by reducing inventories by a further EUR800m to EUR1bn; focus capital expenditure and research and development programmes on strategic projects, including electric vehicles and environment-friendly engine performance.
