Skip to main content
Sister Publication Links
  • Automotive News
  • Automobilwoche
  • Automotive News Canada
  • Automotive News China
Subscribe
  • Subscribe
  • Newsletters
  • Login
  • HOME
    • Latest news
    • Automakers
    • Suppliers
    • New Product
    • Environment/Emissions
    • Sales By Market
    • On The Move
    • Auto Shows
    • Munich Auto Show
    • Geneva Auto Show
    • Paris Auto Show
    • Beijing Auto Show
    • Shanghai Auto Show
  • Features
    • Long Read
    • Interview of the Month
    • Focus on Electrification
    • Focus on Technology
    • Segment Analysis
    • Cars & Concepts
    • Supplier Spotlight
    • Europe By The Numbers
  • Opinion
    • Blogs
    • Commentary
    • Guest columnists
  • Photos
    • Photo Galleries
    • Geneva Photo Gallery
    • Beijing Photo Gallery
    • Frankfurt Photo Gallery
    • Paris Photo Gallery
    • Shanghai Photo Gallery
  • Podcasts
  • Car Cutaways
  • EVENTS
    • ANE Congress
    • ANE Rising Stars
    • ANE Eurostars
    • Browse photos from the 2021 awards ceremony
  • More
    • Publishing Partners
    • Social Media
    • Contact Us
    • Media Kit
    • About Us
    • Capgemini: Securing the industry's future through a radical rethink
    • Capgemini: Succeeding with the automated driving journey through AI
    • Capgemini: Toyota and Capgemini leaders on how OEMs can handle industry changes and succeed
    • HEXAGON: Plugging into data is the only way to make winning EVs
    • TUV Rheinland: Battery testing center for large battery packs and more
    • TUV Rheinland: Ideas, services and certifications for smart mobility
    • TUV Rheinland: Testing of automated and autonomous vehicles on test tracks
    • Toyota Europe
    • UFI Filters
    • Facebook
    • Instagram
    • LinkedIn
    • Twitter
MENU
Breadcrumb
  1. Home
  2. Automakers
January 16, 2019 04:23 PM

France abandons Ghosn, all but ensuring Renault CEO's ouster

ANIA NUSSBAUM and HELENE FOUQUET
Bloomberg
  • Tweet
  • Share
  • Share
  • Email
  • More
    Print
    Ghosn courtroom sketch rtrs web.jpg
    Kyodo/via REUTERS

    PARIS -- French Finance Minister Bruno Le Maire called for the dismissal of jailed Renault CEO Carlos Ghosn, all but assuring the celebrated auto executive will lose his last toehold on power.

    “We are entering now a new phase,” Le Maire said Wednesday evening in an interview with LCI Television. “In this new phase we need a new and durable governance for Renault.”

    France is Renault’s most important shareholder, with a 15 percent stake, extra voting rights and two seats on the board. The government had stood by the 64-year-old executive during his almost two-month interrogation in Japan on allegations of financial misconduct -- even as its alliance partners, Nissan and Mitsubishi Motors ousted him. But this week the French stance started to shift.

    Renault’s board will probably meet in coming days to replace him, people familiar with the matter said earlier, asking not be identified because the information is not public. The board was spurred into action by Ghosn’s failure this week to win bail, which points to a lengthy incarceration and would prevent him from carrying out his roles at Renault, they said. The embattled executive was arrested on Nov. 19 in Japan.

    French officials are visiting Tokyo to discuss the future of the alliance between the automakers, government spokesman Benjamin Griveaux said earlier in Paris. The state’s priority is to defend the “stability” of the partnership and the jobs it provides, he said.

    The delegation includes Martin Vial, who heads the agency that oversees French state shareholdings and sits on Renault’s board, and Emmanuel Moulin, Le Maire’s chief of staff, a ministry spokesman said.

    Presumed innocence 

    Renault and the French state had cited the principle of presumed innocence in backing Ghosn, while Nissan and smaller alliance partner Mitsubishi removed him as chairman. Accusations against Ghosn mounted this week, including a reported 7 million-euro payment ($8 million) from a Dutch entity named NMBV that is part of the manufacturing partnership he assembled between the three automakers.

    Nissan CEO Hiroto Saikawa was interviewed in the French press this week, defending his efforts to remove Ghosn and seeking to downplay the portrayal of the saga as a power struggle. Ghosn’s arrest created a climate of suspicion between the companies, whose alliance has been held together by the globe-trotting executive for almost two decades.

    While both firms have repeatedly said they are committed to the alliance, Nissan has long been unhappy about what it considers an outsized French role in the partnership. Renault, which rescued the Japanese automaker two decades ago, has a 43 percent voting stake in Nissan, which in turn owns just 15 percent of the French company, with no voting rights.

    Ghosn is accused by prosecutors of understating his income at Nissan by tens of millions of dollars and of transferring personal trading losses to the automaker. The executive has said he’s innocent and has called the accusations “meritless and unsubstantiated.”

    Decision needed

    Some Renault board members have concluded that a decision on Ghosn’s position is needed fast, one of the people familiar with the matter said. There’s no way Ghosn can stay in charge of Renault, no matter how the legal saga ends, the person said.

    “Renault must realize Ghosn had stepped beyond what is appropriate,” said Janet Lewis, a Tokyo-based auto analyst with Macquarie Group. “Too much power would appear to have accrued to one person, so it is important to try and develop a leadership team that can continue the work of the alliance.”

    A spokesman for Renault earlier declined to comment on any possible changes in governance at the automaker.

    A spokesman for Nissan reiterated the company’s internal investigation uncovered “substantial and convincing evidence of misconduct.” The spokesman declined to comment on managerial decisions at Renault. Ghosn’s lawyers, represented by Motonari Otsuru, had no comment.

    The state has called for a Renault board meeting in the next few days, Le Maire said. Interim CEO Thierry Bollore’s mandate could be made more permanent, while Michelin CEO Jean-Dominique Senard is the leading candidate to become chairman, one of the people told Bloomberg.

    Le Maire, asked about Senard in the TV interview, described him as a “great industrial manager.”

    RECOMMENDED FOR YOU
    Tesla ads can continue referring to autonomous driving, German court says
    Recommended for You
    Tesla self drive
    Tesla ads can continue referring to autonomous driving, German court says
    jag-main_i.jpg
    Jaguar begins polishing image as an elite lifestyle brand
    VW Tiguan production at company's assembly plant in Puebla, Mexico.
    VW Mexico union to hold new contract vote after workers reject pay deal
    Sign up for free newsletters
    EMAIL ADDRESS

    Please enter a valid email address.

    Please enter your email address.

    Please verify captcha.

    Please select at least one newsletter to subscribe.

    You can unsubscribe at any time through links in these emails. For more information, see our Privacy Policy.

    Get Free Newsletters

    Sign up and get the best of Automotive News Europe delivered straight to your email inbox, free of charge. Choose your news – we will deliver.

    You can unsubscribe at any time through links in these emails. For more information, see our Privacy Policy.

    SUBSCRIBE TODAY

    Get 24/7 access to in-depth, authoritative coverage of the auto industry from a global team of reporters and editors covering the news that’s vital to your business.

    SUBSCRIBE NOW
    Connect with Us
    • Twitter
    • Facebook
    • LinkedIn
    • Instagram

    Founded in 1996, Automotive News Europe is the preferred information source for decision-makers and opinion leaders operating in Europe.

    Contact Us

    1155 Gratiot Avenue
    Detroit MI  48207-2997
    Tel: +1 877-812-1584

    Email Us

    ISSN 2643-6590 (print)
    ISSN 2643-6604 (online)

     

    Resources
    • About us
    • Contact Us
    • Advertise with us
    • Advertise with Us
    • Ad Choices Ad Choices
    • Sitemap
    Awards
    • Rising Stars
    • Eurostars
    • Leading Women
    Legal
    • Terms and Conditions
    • Privacy Policy
    • Privacy Request
    Automotive News Europe
    Copyright © 1996-2022. Crain Communications, Inc. All Rights Reserved.
    • HOME
      • Latest news
      • Automakers
      • Suppliers
      • New Product
      • Environment/Emissions
      • Sales By Market
      • On The Move
      • Auto Shows
        • Munich Auto Show
        • Geneva Auto Show
        • Paris Auto Show
        • Beijing Auto Show
        • Shanghai Auto Show
    • Features
      • Long Read
      • Interview of the Month
      • Focus on Electrification
      • Focus on Technology
      • Segment Analysis
      • Cars & Concepts
      • Supplier Spotlight
      • Europe By The Numbers
    • Opinion
      • Blogs
      • Commentary
      • Guest columnists
    • Photos
      • Photo Galleries
      • Geneva Photo Gallery
      • Beijing Photo Gallery
      • Frankfurt Photo Gallery
      • Paris Photo Gallery
      • Shanghai Photo Gallery
    • Podcasts
    • Car Cutaways
    • EVENTS
      • ANE Congress
      • ANE Rising Stars
      • ANE Eurostars
        • Browse photos from the 2021 awards ceremony
    • More
      • Publishing Partners
        • Capgemini: Securing the industry's future through a radical rethink
        • Capgemini: Succeeding with the automated driving journey through AI
        • Capgemini: Toyota and Capgemini leaders on how OEMs can handle industry changes and succeed
        • HEXAGON: Plugging into data is the only way to make winning EVs
        • TUV Rheinland: Battery testing center for large battery packs and more
        • TUV Rheinland: Ideas, services and certifications for smart mobility
        • TUV Rheinland: Testing of automated and autonomous vehicles on test tracks
        • Toyota Europe
        • UFI Filters
      • Social Media
        • Facebook
        • Instagram
        • LinkedIn
        • Twitter
      • Contact Us
      • Media Kit
      • About Us