According to media reports, Nissan and French automaker Renault have yet to finalize a new capital cooperation agreement. The completion of this work was originally scheduled for the end of March this year, but it has been affected by internal management turmoil within Nissan, which has also impacted the negotiations between the two parties.
Both sides are attempting to equalize their shareholdings at 15%. However, an unusual situation is that Nissan's management lineup for the 2023 fiscal year will only be announced after the shareholders' meeting on June 27, which will to some extent affect the negotiations with Renault.
On June 16, Nissan announced that its Chief Operating Officer, Ashwani Gupta, would be leaving the company on the 27th. Nissan stated that Gupta's departure was due to his desire to "pursue new opportunities," but he did not respond to requests for comments. On May 12 of this year, Nissan announced that Gupta would no longer serve as a board representative.
In addition to Gupta, two external directors, Masakazu Toyoda and Jenifer Rogers, were also not renominated, which means that the number of Nissan's board members will be reduced from 12 to 10.
Toyoda, a former official of the Japanese Ministry of Economy, Trade, and Industry, currently serves as Nissan's Chief External Director and Chairman of the Nomination Committee. He has played a key role in reforming Nissan's governance since the arrest of former Chairman Carlos Ghosn in 2018.
On February 6, Nissan stated that the company had reached a preliminary agreement with Renault to reduce Renault's stake in Nissan from 43% to 15%. The announcement indicated that both parties planned to reach a formal agreement by the end of March. However, during the negotiation process, some Nissan executives opposed several terms of the deal out of concern for the leakage of electric vehicle technology and other intellectual property. It is reported that the delay in negotiations has led to disagreements reaching the management level.
When Renault Chairman Jean-Dominique Senard met with Nissan President and CEO Makoto Uchida in Paris at the end of May, he expressed the hope that Nissan's management could stabilize as soon as possible.
After Ghosn's arrest, Nissan established a nomination committee in 2019, reflecting the excessive power Ghosn previously held. Among the current 12 committee members, external directors account for 60%.
The current fiscal year (ending in March 2024) is the final year of Nissan's "Nissan Next" business restructuring plan. Nissan expects its operating profit margin for this fiscal year to be 4.2%, falling short of the company's 5% target. Challenges such as Nissan's electrification and other growth strategies, as well as reforming its China operations, still remain.
Takaki Nakanishi, an analyst at the renowned Japanese automotive industry research firm Nakanishi Research Institute, stated, "With an unsettled management team, stalled negotiations with Renault, and a multitude of issues to address, Nissan may struggle to see its next strategic steps if it spends time resolving internal turmoil."
