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Macron and Abe seek to avert messy Renault-Nissan breakup

TOKYO/PARIS – France and Japan's leaders met for bilateral talks to avert a diplomatic row over the Renault-Nissan-Mitsubishi alliance on Friday following the surprise arrest of its Chairman Carlos Ghosn in Japan. With the carmaking alliance facing its biggest test after the ousting of Ghosn at Nissan and affiliate Mitsubishi over financial misconduct allegations, President Emmanuel Macron sat down with Prime Minister Shinzo Abe at the G20 summit in Buenos Aires. Ghosn's arrest to face accusations including the under-reporting of income has triggered new attempts by Nissan to weaken Renault's control of the Franco-Japanese alliance, adding to challenges facing Macron at home. Macron, whose government has repeatedly pressed Japan to share evidence unearthed by Nissan's internal investigation into Ghosn, "restated his firm wish that the alliance should be preserved, along with the stability of the group," an Elysee official said after Friday's meeting with Abe. Abe said it was important to "maintain a stable relationship," according to a spokesman for the Japanese leader. "However, he said the future of the alliance is up to the private-sector shareholders. The government of Japan does not prejudge the future of the alliance," the spokesman said. The French official quoted Abe as telling Macron that "the legal process must be allowed to take its course." LEADERLESS Tokyo authorities on Friday extended Ghosn's detention for a second time, by the maximum-allowed 10 days, local media reported. Prosecutors must file charges by Dec. 10 or arrest Ghosn for new crimes to hold him beyond that date. Tokyo prosecutors declined to comment. Nissan did not immediately respond to a request for comment. Ghosn's detention has left the global auto alliance without its leader and main interlocutor with the French government, which owns 15 percent of Renault and wants to maintain the ownership structure enshrining its control of the partnership. But Nissan Chief Executive Hiroto Saikawa has made clear that Nissan wants to weaken the control of its smaller parent as it carries out a governance review. Renault's 43.4 percent Nissan stake ensures an effective voting majority at shareholder meetings, while Nissan's reciprocal 15 percent Renault holding carries no voting rights.

Recharge Wrap-up: Car2go launches in Brooklyn, Green Fleet Car of the Year Award announced

The Car2go carsharing service is starting operations in Brooklyn next month. Beginning October 25, the service will offer 400 Car2go edition Smart Fortwo vehicles for point-to-point travel. Members pay a one-time sign-up fee, and are charged by the amount of time the use the vehicle (fuel and insurance is free). Drivers can find a car using the Car2go app or website, and can return the car to any non-metered parking spot within the 36-square-mile Brooklyn Home Area. Car2go is offering free membership and 30 minutes of credit for those who sign up early with a special promotional code. Learn more in the press release below. Renault and the Eco2charge consortium are working to bring better EV charging to France. They are providing research and development aimed at turning simple charging stations into "fully fledged energy ecosystems" through a smart grid. This grid would coordinate charging, consumption and energy storage in a way that increases efficiency and decreases cost. Read more in the press release below. The Renault-Nissan Alliance could source EV batteries from suppliers other than Nissan, according to CEO Carlos Ghosn. This news comes after recent questions of whether or not Nissan would scale back battery production in the US and UK. Ghosn says, "At the moment, we continue to produce our own batteries and we are open to outside sourcing, period." He also denies any plans to shutter Nissan's battery production facility in Tennessee. One source of batteries the alliance will look to is Korea's LG Chem. Read more at Automotive News Europe. The first-ever Green Fleet Car and Truck of the Year Awards will be presented at the Los Angeles Auto Show. The presentation on November 20 will be part of the LA show's Connected Car Expo. Nominees are selected by Bobit Business Media, with finalists picked by readers of Green Fleet, Automotive Fleet, Work Truck and Business Fleet magazines. The winners will be chosen based on performance, fuel economy, emissions, safety, capacities and other similar factors. Read more in the press release below. car2go Heads To Brooklyn Brooklyn To Be First To Launch Point-To-Point Carsharing Service In New York City Area On October 25th car2go North America LLC, the fastest-growing global carsharing company, announced today that it will be launching its pioneering carsharing service in Brooklyn on October 25th, marking Brooklyn as car2go's 29th market and the very first in the New York City area.

Renault-Nissan-Mitsubishi pool $200 million to invest in tech startups

PARIS — The Renault-Nissan-Mitsubishi alliance is setting up a $200 million mobility tech fund, three sources said, in the latest move by major carmakers to adapt to rapid industry change by investing in startups through their own venture capital arms. The fund, due to be unveiled by Chief Executive Carlos Ghosn at the CES tech industry show in Las Vegas next Tuesday, will be 40 percent financed by Renault, 40 percent by Nissan and 20 percent by Mitsubishi. "It will allow us to move faster on acquisitions ahead of our competition," one of the alliance sources told Reuters. Frederique Le Greves, a spokeswoman for the Renault-Nissan-Mitsubishi alliance, declined to comment. The traditional auto industry model based on individual ownership is threatened by pay-per-use services such as Uber, as well as ride- and car-sharing platforms, a challenge heightened by parallel shifts towards electrified and self-driving cars. Wary carmakers are struggling to embrace changes and technologies that some of their executives are only beginning to grasp. To accelerate the process, many are investing directly in the new services — and gaining access to intellectual property — via their own corporate venture capital (CVC) funds. BMW has purchased stakes in a plethora of ride-sharing, smart-charging and autonomous vehicle software firms through its 500 million euro ($600 million) iVentures fund, the biggest such in-house facility belonging to a carmaker. Among others that have been increasingly active are General Motors' GM Ventures, with $240 million, and Peugeot-maker PSA Group's 100 million-euro investment arm. CVC funds, a familiar feature of innovative sectors such as tech and pharmaceuticals, have become more commonplace among carmakers since the 2008-9 financial crisis. They let companies skip some of the formalities otherwise required for new investments, and pounce more swiftly on promising startups. The Renault-Nissan-Mitsubishi venture will also obviate the current need to thrash out the ownership split for each new alliance acquisition. It represents a further step in the integration of the carmakers as they pursue 10 billion euros in annual synergies by 2022. France's Renault holds a 43.4 percent stake in Nissan, which in turn controls Mitsubishi. Ghosn heads Renault and chairs all three.