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Nissan is optimistic about FCA partnership, but wants the right terms

BEIJING – Nissan is optimistic about partnering with a combined Renault and Fiat Chrysler (FCA), as long as it can protect the ownership of technology developed over two decades of working with Renault, a senior executive told Reuters. The executive, who declined to be identified because he is not authorized to speak to the media, said he was cautiously optimistic about the possibility of generating "synergies" by sharing Nissan's autonomous drive know-how, electrification and greenhouse-gas-scrubbing technologies for powertrains. But he said the possible $35 billion merger of Renault and FCA would not give FCA the automatic right to use those technologies, which it needs to meet stringent emissions regulations and better compete in a industry being transformed by electric vehicles. He also floated the possibility that Nissan could look at boosting its stake in Renault, or a merged Renault-FCA, to gain more say in shaping the future of the alliance. "We would go ahead with partnering or cooperating with FCA only if we can guarantee tangible benefits from sharing technologies with FCA and only if we can work out conditions that are satisfactory to us," the Yokohama-based executive said. "If Renault wants to pursue this deal, we feel we need to look seriously at supporting them," he said. The executive's comments highlight how Nissan could look to leverage its advanced technology to gain greater bargaining power with a merged Renault-FCA. Renault is Nissan's top shareholder with a 43.4% shareholding, while Nissan holds a 15% non-voting stake in the French automaker. That unequal partnership has long rankled Nissan, which is the bigger company by far. A Nissan spokesman referred Reuters to a statement issued on Monday, where Nissan Chief Executive Hiroto Saikawa said: "I believe that the potential addition of FCA as a new member of the alliance could expand the playing field for collaboration and create new opportunities for further synergies." "That said, the proposal currently being discussed is a full merger which — if realized — would significantly alter the structure of our partner Renault. This would require a fundamental review of the existing relationship between Nissan and Renault," Saikawa said, adding that Nissan would analyze and consider its "existing contractual relationships". BOOSTING STAKE?

Nissan adds 500 jobs in Mississippi for Murano production [w/video]

Nissan is bolstering its workforce at its Canton, MS factory, adding 500 workers for this fall's production kickoff of the heavily redesigned Murano crossover.
"The addition of Murano to our portfolio, coupled with the continued growth and success of the Canton plant, will move us even closer to our goal to build more than 85 percent of the vehicles we sell in the US right here in North America," said senior vice president of manufacturing, supply chain management and purchasing for Nissan's North American ops, John Martin.
The Murano will eventually be exported to over 100 markets and will be built alongside the current Xterra, Frontier, Titan and Armada. The addition of 500 jobs to the Canton facility elevates its total workforce past 6,000 people.

Carlos Ghosn freed from jail after four months

TOKYO — Wearing a mask, cap and what looked like a construction worker's outfit, the former chairman of Nissan Motor Co., Carlos Ghosn, left a Tokyo detention center Wednesday after posting 1 billion yen ($8.9 million) bail. Although his face was obscured as he left the facility, Ghosn's identity was apparent as he smiled after arriving at a building in downtown Tokyo, having removed his jacket, mask and hat. There was a scramble by media to follow Ghosn after he boarded a small Suzuki van, topped with a ladder, and traveled from the Tokyo Detention Center toward downtown. Motorcycles trailed the van in formation as it passed through city streets to one of the defense lawyer's offices. Ghosn later left in another car, which was mobbed by media. Ghosn, the former head of the Renault-Nissan-Mitsubishi Motors alliance was arrested on Nov. 19. He is charged with falsifying financial reports and with breach of trust. The Tokyo District Court confirmed the 1 billion yen ($8.9 million) bail was posted earlier in the day, after a judge rejected an appeal from prosecutors requesting his continued detention. That cleared the way for Ghosn to leave the facility after spending nearly four months since his arrest. Before his release, Ghosn, who turns 65 on Saturday, issued a statement reasserting his innocence. "I am innocent and totally committed to vigorously defending myself in a fair trial against these meritless and unsubstantiated accusations," he said. A date for his trial has not yet been set. Suspects in Japan often are detained for months, especially those who insist on their innocence, like Ghosn. Some legal experts, including Junichiro Hironaka, one of his lawyers, have criticized the system as "hostage justice," saying the long detentions tend to encourage false confessions. Ghosn's lawyer in France, Jean-Yves Le Borgne, said the lawyers in Japan will be leading the defense but he was in touch with them. "He is catching his breath and settling in," Le Borgne said of Ghosn. French Finance Minister Bruno Le Maire said a presumption of innocence for Ghosn was crucial, while noting the importance to France of the alliance between Nissan and French automaker Renault SA. "It is a good thing that Carlos Ghosn can defend himself freely and serenely, and his release will permit Carlos Ghosn to defend himself freely and serenely," he said. The French government owns about 15 percent of Renault SA, making it an influential voice in the future of the alliance.