If we think of some of the most successful alliances in the auto industry, the first name that would pop up in your mind would be the alliance of Renault and Nissan. The man behind the miracle of bringing French and Japenese companies together and dominated the partnership was Carlos Ghosn. But now after Carlos Ghosn is in jail for the charges of illegally underreporting his income, Renault face a leadership crisis. But with Carlos Ghosn fall the truth has surfaced, as he exercised a significant level of powers and all the success of alliance revolved around him only. The trouble of cooperation deepens with him, not leaving behind a clear successor.
Now Renault is ready to get a wiggle on, Renault CEO Thierry Bollore appointed under Ghosn was pushed aside and was replaced on an interim basis by Delbos, who is Renault finance director. Tension prevails between Nissan and Renault and at the same time Renault is on a hunt for new partners to buy it cars and components. Renault has also withdrawn its plan of possible merge with Fiat Chrysler Automobiles(FCA) after Nissan, and French state failed to give their backing, but according to Renault, the FCA deal will be reexamined at some stage.
Currently, Renault is taking all measures to regain its grasp on the market by turning the page on and regaining the trust of the investor. The company is currently under strategic review with “nothing off the table”. New interim CEO Clotilde Delbos did not disclose every aspect of the evaluation, but some critical points of consideration were discussed. Every aspect of the business, including Renault long time and prominent participation in Formula One motor racing, is being reviewed. Also, the company has pledged to put the Ghosn era behind, thus “Drive the Future” strategy- a plan that was launched in 2017 by Ghosn is under review and plans are of making changes in policy.
The Renault-Nissan alliance is a unique example of how to achieve many of the benefits of a merger without the complications of actually merging. The coalition was studied at business schools as a unique example of how to manage the merger of two firms and earn maximum profit from it. Still, the alliance suffered due concentration of power in one hand and abuse of these powers.