Japan’s third-largest automaker by sales is looking for a partner for cloud computing services for its cars that doesn’t involve its historical ally France.
Nissan is developing independent growth plans in key areas such as software and electric vehicles as it works to finalize the terms of a severely limited partnership with Renault, according to seven people familiar with the strategy. Japan’s third-largest automaker by sales is looking for a technology partner for its cars’ cloud computing services that doesn’t involve its historical ally France, two sources involved in the talks said. , without specifying the potential candidates. According to one of the sources, Nissan would thus correct one of its relative weaknesses in the field of “smarter and more connected” cars.
The Japanese group also plans to implement its own strategy for electric vehicles in Asian and North American markets, the sources added.
Signature of the agreement expected by the summer
These revelations come as the final agreements on the restructuring of the Renault-Nissan alliance founded more than twenty years earlier have not yet been signed. The aim was to close at the end of the first term, but talks are ongoing and the signing is now expected by summer, the sources say.
The agreements presented in February in London provide for a capital rebalancing of the alliance, each partner finding themselves at parity in capital and voting rights, at 15%. Nissan also plans to invest up to 15% also in Renault’s future “Ampère” electric entity. This rebalancing and the emergence of independent strategies with each partner – Nissan, but also Renault, which has multiplied partnerships with third parties for the past year, such as Google or Geely – reinforces the conviction of some, within the Japanese group, that the alliance is at the end of its course and has had its day in the face of the main challenges that await it.
Enhanced cooperation in India and Latin America
The automotive sector is facing one of the biggest revolutions it has ever known, with the accelerated switch from gasoline to electric motors and global diplomatic and logistical tensions that are undermining its globalized economic model. While Nissan plans to continue to share component purchases with its French partner, for example, it has no plans to bring engineering human resources to Ampère, two sources said. For another source, close to Renault, it is however the contribution in the form of teams which constitutes a real guarantee of involvement in Renault’s electrical projects, more than a simple financial participation.
In a joint statement, Nissan and Renault said they were still working on the final terms of their new partnership which would make them both more competitive. “The new structure allows for a faster and more flexible decision-making process,” added the two groups. They also recalled that they had decided to strengthen their cooperation in India and Latin America.
Limited operational involvement in Ampère
Nissan’s “one-man” mindset could materialize into a long-term strategic plan likely to be announced by the end of the year, one of the sources said. This plan, intended to improve the group’s operational performance, would also focus on electrification and software for autonomous driving and connectivity. “Even if Renault gets something from Nissan, going in another direction has tangible benefits,” said a second person familiar with Nissan’s position.
“The restrictions from Renault have disappeared, we can move forward freely.”
Renault and Nissan added in their statement that Nissan’s investment in Ampère would strengthen the Japanese group in Europe and “accelerate new activities”, without elaborating. One of the sources specified that Nissan will invest in the entity, and will bring technologies to it, but that its operational involvement will remain limited. If Ampère were to develop technologies that interest it for Europe, Nissan will look at them, but with a view to buying them separately, she added.
Questions about after 2026
Renault, Nissan and Mitsubishi will have no less than 80% of their vehicles based on common alliance platforms in 2026, but the question remains unanswered concerning the projects currently under study which will materialize beyond this horizon. Whether exploring new areas or pursuing existing areas of cooperation. According to sources, Nissan is particularly careful to protect the future use of technologies developed on solid-state batteries, which it is piloting on behalf of the alliance, as well as its developments on driving aids. And although the Japanese group today largely uses the electrical and electronic architectures developed by Renault for the alliance, we do not know what use it will make of future architectures defined around software (full software defined vehicles) on which its French partner is working with Google.
The feeling of freedom found within Nissan marks a halt to the dreams of increased integration cherished from the time of Carlos Ghosn, the former CEO of Renault and Nissan until his arrest in Japan and his flight to Lebanon. His disgrace followed accusations of financial irregularities, but the historical architect of the alliance said he was the victim of a plot within Nissan to block a merger.
In the Japanese group, some were not even satisfied with the rebalancing announced at the start of 2023 and yet requested for a long time. Several sources have said that the best outcome would have been a “zero percent-zero percent” rebalancing, while acknowledging that at this stage this objective could not be achieved.
