Renault CEO Carlos Ghosn has told the French newspaper, Le Parisien that there are two conditions that must be met for a potential three-way alliance between Renault, Nissan and GM to go ahead.
Go deeper with GlobalData
Discover B2B Marketing That Performs
Combine business intelligence and editorial excellence to reach engaged professionals across 36 leading media platforms.
He said that there must be synergies, and that the leadership of the companies involved must have ‘the same appetite’ for the alliance.
Ghosn was referring to GM president Rick Wagoner’s apparent ambivalence towards an alliance.
“I know that we can achieve synergies,” said Ghosn. “By reducing costs and sharing investments, profits would be higher. Now we are discussing the future aims of the project. We will know the outcome of discussions by 15 October.”
Dpa-AFX noted that, if there is the slightest sign of any weakness in the alliance, or from one its partners, the alliance will not go ahead.
Separately, Kyodo News, citing “unidentified sources close to the negotiations”, reported on Monday that Ghosn and Wagoner plan to hold talks this week in Paris.
The meeting will be held before the opening of the Paris motor show, which begins on Thursday with media previews, Kyodo said.
Renault-Nissan and GM are currently exploring the possibility of a wide-ranging cooperation, but no details have yet been agreed. In July, the three car makers agreed to conduct a 90-day review of the potential benefits of an alliance that could create an automobile giant with a combined annual production of 15m vehicles.
The study came after GM shareholder Kirk Kerkorian called for the car makers to pursue an alliance.
