RNSDF - Renault SA
| Previous Close | 37.21 |
| Open | 37.21 |
| Bid | 0.00 x 0 |
| Ask | 0.00 x 0 |
| Day's Range | 37.21 - 37.21 |
| 52 Week Range | 37.21 - 71.30 |
| Volume | 749 |
| Avg. Volume | 1,421 |
| Market Cap | 10.88B |
| Beta (5Y Monthly) | 1.51 |
| PE Ratio (TTM) | 1.87 |
| EPS (TTM) | 19.91 |
| Earnings Date | N/A |
| Forward Dividend & Yield | 3.99 (10.72%) |
| Ex-Dividend Date | Jun 17, 2019 |
| 1y Target Est | N/A |
Reuters VideosRenault posts loss, Nissan shares tumble
Nissan shares fell to their lowest in 10 and a half years on Friday (February 14) tumbling nearly 10 percent after the struggling auto maker cut its annual profit forecast It also said it would not pay a dividend in the second half. Japan's No.2 car maker has been shaken by the scandal surrounding former boss Carlos Ghosn. The crisis has been compounded by worsening sales and a brand image tarnished by years of heavy discounting in the U.S. and other markets. On Thursday Nissan posted its first quarterly net loss in nearly a decade. The dividend cut will be particularly painful for top shareholder Renault. On Friday the French carmaker, in turn, posted its first loss in 10 years for 2019 and set a lower operating margin goal for 2020. It's a crunch year for Renault's planned reboot of its alliance with Nissan. The company is grappling with tumbling auto demand in some key markets like China. Adding further pressure, Renault has a factory in China's Wuhan, the epicentre of the coronavirus epidemic. It's in lockdown to contain the spread of the virus. It has also suspended operations for at least four days at its South Korean subsidiary due to supply chain hiccups. Renault made an annual loss of $153 million in 2019. And group sales fell 3.3%.
- Reuters
Japan shares drop to 1-1/2-week low on GDP contraction, coronavirus worries
Japanese stocks slid to a 1-1/2-week low on Monday, hurt by a worse-than-expected economic contraction in the December quarter, while worries about the business impact of the coronavirus epidemic continued to weigh on the market. All but two of the 33 sector sub-indexes on the Tokyo Stock Exchange were trading lower, with air transport, foods and metal products being the worst three performers. Economists' median estimate was for a 3.7% contraction.
- Reuters
Tokyo stocks fall to 1-1/2-week low on worse-than-expected GDP
Japanese shares slid to a 1-1/2-week low on Monday, hurt by a weaker-than-expected gross domestic product (GDP) reading for the December quarter, while worries about the economic impact of the coronavirus epidemic continued to weigh on the market. All but two of the 33 sector sub-indexes on the Tokyo Stock Exchange were trading lower, with air transport, sea transport and metal products being the worst three performers.
- Autoblog
Renault plans $2.2 billion 'no taboos' cost cutting after first loss in a decade
Renault's first loss in a decade triggered a no-taboos commitment on Friday to cut costs by 2 billion euros ($2.2 billion) over the next three years as the automaker tries to put the Carlos Ghosn affair behind it. As ex-Volkswagen brand manager Luca de Meo prepares to take over as chief executive of the French automaker, which has been rocked by the Ghosn scandal, it did not exclude job cuts in a promised review of its performance across all factories. Like many auto industry rivals, including its alliance partner Nissan, Renault is grappling with tumbling demand in key markets like China, and said it expects the sector to be hit further this year, including in Europe.
- Reuters
GLOBAL MARKETS-European stocks climb to record on hopes of limited coronavirus economic hit
Stock markets across the world ticked higher on Friday, as investors bet that the damage to the global economy from China's coronavirus outbreak would not be long-lasting. Europe's broad Euro STOXX 600 hit a record high, gaining 0.1% to mirror gains in Asia after a choppy start to the day. Indexes in London and Frankfurt gained 0.1% and 0.2% respectively, with the former moving higher after AstraZeneca shares turned positive.
- Reuters
Renault plans $2.2 billion 'no taboos' cost cuts after first loss in a decade
Renault's first loss in a decade triggered a no-taboos commitment to cut costs by 2 billion euros ($2.2 billion) over the next three years from the carmaker on Friday, as it tries to put the Carlos Ghosn affair behind it. As ex-Volkswagen brand manager Luca de Meo prepares to take over as chief executive of the French automaker, which has been rocked by the Ghosn scandal, it did not exclude job cuts in a promised review of its performance across all factories. Like many auto industry rivals, including its alliance partner Nissan, Renault is grappling with tumbling demand in key markets like China, and said it expects the sector to be hit further this year, including in Europe.
ReutersGLOBAL MARKETS-European shares hit record even as coronavirus shows no signs of peaking
Stock markets across the world ticked higher on Friday, even as investors debated whether China's coronavirus outbreak would cause long-lasting damage to the global economy. Europe's broad Euro STOXX 600 hit a record high, gaining 0.2% to mirror gains in Asia after a choppy start to the day. Indexes in London and Frankfurt gained 0.2% and 0.3% respectively, with the former moving higher after AstraZeneca shares turned positive.
- Bloomberg
French Giant Looks at Tesla With Burning Envy
(Bloomberg Opinion) -- On one side of the Atlantic, Tesla Inc. is capitalizing on its soaring share price by selling $2 billion in stock so it can build more electric vehicles. On the other, French manufacturer Renault SA has been forced to cut its dividend by 70% and announce a big reduction in fixed costs so it can afford to do the same.Dwindling profits and Renault’s drastic remedies were mirrored this week by its Japanese alliance partner Nissan Motor Co., as well at Daimler AG. (Renault has an engineering partnership with Daimler and owns a small stake in the German car and truck maker.) Their problems aren’t identical but all three had expanded their workforces in anticipation of demand that hasn’t materialized and now they have to tighten their belts to pay for expensive electric vehicles, for which demand remains uncertain. Renault’s shares are near their lowest level in eight years, which means the company is capitalized at barely 10 billion euros ($11 billion), a sum that includes the 43% stake Renault owns in Nissan. Needless to say, that’s a sliver of what Tesla is worth, even though the U.S. company’s annual output is still almost a rounding error for the Renault-Nissan alliance. This juxtaposition sends a crystal clear message: Carmakers that grew fat and happy producing combustion engine vehicles won’t get any help from the stock market now that they’ve decided to embrace an electric future. Instead the gasoline gang are going to fund these changes themselves and it’s going to be painful, for both employees and shareholders.Long-established automakers have decided that their salvation is to be found in alliances and partnerships, which spread the cost of developing expensive technology over a greater number of car sales. It’s why Renault tried to merge with Fiat Chrysler Automobiles NV, before Peugeot-owner PSA Group beat them to it. But in Renault’s case its links to other manufactures are amplifying its problems right now, not solving them. Relations with Nissan fell apart when former alliance boss Carlos Ghosn was arrested and remain fragile now that he’s free to settle scores. Both sides have since hired new CEOs but their shareholders aren’t yet ready to buy the story that harmony has been restored.With its own profits slumping, Nissan can’t afford to pay big dividends to Renault and the French are also earning less from the Daimler partnership. The upshot is that Renault is a bit squeezed for cash — net cash at the automotive unit dwindled to just 1.7 billion euros at the end of December (though gross liquidity, including available credit lines, was a more respectable 16 billion euros). One way Renault could free up some money would be to sell part of its Nissan stake, which might have the added benefit of helping to re-balance the alliance in Nissan’s favor, something the Japanese have long sought. The trouble is Nissan’s shares have halved in value over the last two years so selling now wouldn’t provide Renault with nearly as much as it once would. Interim CEO Clotilde Delbos all but ruled out such a move on Friday.So it’s no wonder that Renault has opted to drastically scale back its own dividend and will try to cut costs by 2 billion euros in the next three years. Delbos, who’s also the chief financial officer, didn’t go into much detail about how those savings will be delivered but the company plans to review its “industrial footprint,” which suggests plant closures are a possibility. (Alliance partner Nissan has already announced 12,500 job cuts, while Daimler is targeting at least 10,000.)Lowering costs won’t be straight forward. New Renault CEO Luca de Meo, a former Volkswagen AG executive, doesn’t start until July and French unions aren’t known for championing efforts to slash jobs. In the near term, restructuring costs will also put further pressure on Renault’s cash flow and the coronavirus could yet create unexpected problems. But unlike at Tesla, Renault doesn’t have a queue of wealthy supporters clamoring to help fund this epochal clean-vehicle transition. One way or other, employees and existing shareholders will end up paying.To contact the author of this story: Chris Bryant at cbryant32@bloomberg.netTo contact the editor responsible for this story: Melissa Pozsgay at mpozsgay@bloomberg.netThis column does not necessarily reflect the opinion of Bloomberg LP and its owners.Chris Bryant is a Bloomberg Opinion columnist covering industrial companies. He previously worked for the Financial Times.For more articles like this, please visit us at bloomberg.com/opinionSubscribe now to stay ahead with the most trusted business news source.©2020 Bloomberg L.P.
- Bloomberg
Renault Looks to Cut Costs After Slashing Dividend, Posting Loss
(Bloomberg) -- Want the lowdown on European markets? In your inbox before the open, every day. Sign up here.Renault SA moved to reassure investors by dangling the prospect of cost cuts and assets sales after posting its first annual loss in a decade and slashing its payout to shareholders.The French carmaker, suffering from slumping sales in key markets and a dismal performance at partner Nissan Motor Co., will conduct a review of its Chinese assets and explore plant closures to rein in costs, acting Chief Executive Officer Clotilde Delbos told reporters at a press conference near Paris Friday.“Considering the situation of the global market and considering that we maybe had too much capacity for volume goals that were higher than what we have today, we don’t exclude any taboo, whether in the world or in France,” Delbos said.The stock rose as much as 4% following her remarks, more than reversing its earlier plunge to a seven-year low in the wake of the carmaker’s disappointing annual results.Renault and Nissan, linked in an uneasy alliance for the past two decades, have been dogged by infighting and instability since the arrest of former leader Carlos Ghosn 15 months ago. While Renault last month picked former Volkswagen AG executive Luca de Meo as its new CEO, he doesn’t start until July.In the meantime, Renault will press ahead with a plan to trim structural costs by at least 2 billion euros ($2.2 billion) over three years, Delbos said, adding the company doesn’t have the “luxury” of waiting for De Meo’s arrival.Nissan ImpactNissan’s decision to scrap its year-end dividend represented a big financial hit for Renault, which owns 43% of the Japanese carmaker. The French company will cut its own payout by more than two-thirds to 1.10 euros a share, the lowest level since 2011.Renault lowered its guidance for 2019 revenue and profit in October, saying weakening economies weighed on car sales in key markets while tougher rules on emissions pushed up costs. A deteriorating performance at Nissan has also hit results. Its contribution to Renault’s results plunged to 242 million euros last year from 1.51 billion euros the year before.Read more: Nissan Is Worth Less Than Subaru After Shares PlummetWhen De Meo takes the helm, he’ll join Chairman Jean-Dominique Senard in trying to shore up Renault’s at times acrimonious relationship with Nissan. Sorting out their differences is crucial as automakers face the costly and uncertain transition to electric vehicles.For 2020, the carmaker sees annual revenue in line with 2019, leaving aside currency swings, and a group operating margin of between 3% and 4%. It also forecasts positive automotive operating free cash flow before restructuring expenses, while adding that expected volatility in Europe in light of new emissions rules and the potential impact of the coronavirus cloud the outlook.What Bloomberg Intelligence Says:Renault’s guidance for 2020 is disappointing and below our expectations, with a 25% cut in consensus operating profit estimates needed to meet the midpoint of new 3-4% margin guidance vs. the 4.8% in-line result in 2019. The 70% cut in Renault’s dividend is less of a surprise after Nissan cut its dividend to zero. Indeed, Renault pays out the whole dividend received from Nissan to shareholders that amounted to 86% of Renault’s dividend last year.\-- Michael Dean, BI automotive analystThe coronavirus outbreak, centered in the key Chinese auto-making region of Hubei, forced Renault to halt production at a Korean plant for four days this week, and more stoppages are possible -- even at European plants -- because of parts shortages, Delbos said.“The problem is we have no visibility, and I don’t think anybody has any visibility, of the real impact,” she said.Get more:See statementFY revenue 55.5 billion euros vs 55.4 billion-euro estimateFY group operating margin 4.8% vs 6.3% in 2018FY positive automotive operational free cash flow 153 million eurosRenault books a 753 million-euro charge related to the discontinuation of the recognition of deferred tax assets on tax losses in FranceFY net income group share falls to loss of 141 million euros vs profit of 3.3 billion euros in 2018\--With assistance from Caroline Connan.To contact the reporter on this story: Angelina Rascouet in London at arascouet1@bloomberg.netTo contact the editors responsible for this story: Anthony Palazzo at apalazzo@bloomberg.net, Frank Connelly, Andrew NoëlFor more articles like this, please visit us at bloomberg.comSubscribe now to stay ahead with the most trusted business news source.©2020 Bloomberg L.P.
- MarketWatch
Weighed by costs, Renault swings to 2019 loss and cuts dividend
Renault SA swung to a 2019 net loss and slashed its dividend as its earnings were hit by several headwinds amid weak global demand for cars.
- Financial Times
Renault’s profits close to wipeout as margins are hit
Renault’s profits were nearly wiped out last year as it faced falling margins in its core business and a collapse in income from its alliance partner Nissan. Contributions from Nissan, which Renault owns through its 43 per cent shareholding, dropped 84 per cent to €242m last year from €1.5bn in 2018. Margins in Renault’s core auto business fell to 2.8 per cent in 2019 from 4.3 per cent in 2018.
- Bloomberg
Nissan’s Slumping Profit, Dividend Foreshadow Renault Decline
(Bloomberg) -- Nissan Motor Co.’s efforts to halt declines in key markets are faltering, forcing the automaker to cut its full-year profit outlook a second time and scrap its year-end dividend to investors, including top shareholder and partner Renault SA.The earnings sent the French carmaker’s shares down to their lowest intraday level in seven years and highlighted the companies’ inter-dependence. Renault, which owns 43% of Nissan and relies on its dividends, is expected to report weaker 2019 earnings and a cut to its own payout on Friday compared with the previous year.The partners have been dogged by instability in their most senior management ranks over the past 15 months following the arrest of former Chairman Carlos Ghosn. Nissan on Thursday reduced its full-year operating profit forecast to 85 billion yen ($774 million) from an earlier estimate of 150 billion yen, as the manufacturer faces falling sales in the U.S., Japan and Europe.By slashing its dividend payment to the lowest level since 2011 and pursuing a previously announced plan to cut 12,500 jobs globally, Nissan is trying to free up cash for investment in next-generation technology needed to stay competitive in areas such as electric vehicles and self-driving cars.“Unfortunately, our business performance has worsened more than we anticipated, and there’s no letting up on investing in the future,” Chief Executive Officer Makoto Uchida said at a press conference at the company’s Yokohama headquarters. “In order to invest in growth, we ended up with this dividend.”The results and outlook underscore the challenges facing Uchida, who took over as CEO in December and promised to unveil a revised midterm plan in May for Nissan and its two-decade alliance with Renault, which itself recently appointed a new CEO.Recession-Level DividendThe shares of Renault fell as much as 3.8% before regaining some ground to trade 0.6% lower at 34.60 euros by 5:03 p.m. in Paris. Nissan shares fell 1.5% to close at 568.5 yen before the earnings release, but after a report foreshadowing the poor results.What Bloomberg Intelligence Says:‘Nissan’s worse than expected 3Q result and dividend will clearly have a knock on effect on Renault’s own pre-tax result and dividend payout, but the key task going forward for the two new CEOs is to provide an update of their 5-year plans and put in place a recovery strategy for Nissan.’\-- Michael Dean, senior European auto analystNissan had initially projected an operating profit of 230 billion yen for the fiscal year through March, but trimmed that last quarter. A year ago, it earned 318 billion yen — which at the time marked its lowest annual income in a decade.Nissan’s total dividend for the current fiscal year is on track to be 10 yen a share, including the prior payout. In November, the Japanese company withdrew its dividend outlook after cutting it in May — the first reduction since it suspended dividends in 2009 amid an industrywide recession.Executives sought to downplay concern about its negative free cash flow, which ballooned to minus 256 billion yen last quarter compared with minus 70 billion yen a year ago.Rakesh Kochhar, a senior vice president in charge of global treasury and automotive sales finance operations, told reporters that liquidity isn’t an issue. “If we need to borrow more money we can do so, and at the right time we will also issue financial bonds,” he said, a reference to an issuance originally anticipated last fall.North America SlumpFor its latest three-month period, Nissan posted an operating profit of 23 billion yen, short of analysts’ average estimate for 59 billion yen. Quarterly sales fell 18% to 2.5 trillion yen, missing analysts’ prediction for 2.7 trillion yen.“There’s no magic potion,” said Bloomberg Intelligence analyst Tatsuo Yoshida. “They’re going to have to make bold cutbacks in production.”Revenue and income fell in all of Nissan’s core sales regions, including in China and its home market of Japan. In North America, its largest and most lucrative market, profits fell by more than 25% compared to a year ago to 21.6 billion.“We know exactly what the problem is,” said Ashwani Gupta, Nissan’s chief operating officer. “We are confident that the U.S. will come back” once eight new models are launched over the next two years, he said.Ghosn DragWorldwide sales volumes at Nissan slid 8.4% to 5.18 million vehicles last year, pulling down its combined performance with Renault to third place globally after top-ranked Volkswagen AG and — for the first time since 2016 — Japanese rival Toyota Motor Corp. For the year through March, Nissan cut its automobile sales outlook by 3.6% to 5.05 million units.The results are beginning to overshadow Nissan’s other big headache, the charges against Ghosn on alleged financial crimes. Sluggish profits, stuck near a decade low, also weaken the Japanese company’s position in its three-way carmaking alliance.Ghosn, who has denied all charges, fled trial in Japan late last year, making his way to Lebanon in a private jet. The former executive and Nissan are now suing each other.After years of sales incentives that eroded margins and pushing businesses to buy cars, CEO Uchida said Nissan needs to rebuild its brand image and focus on appealing to retail customers.China ImpactUchida, Nissan’s third CEO since 2017, joined Nissan in 2003 from metals and machinery company Nissho Iwai Corp. He was most recently in charge of the Japanese automaker’s operations in China.The CEO said that Nissan plans to reopen three of its Chinese factories shuttered by the coronavirus outbreak from Feb. 17 and two others from Feb. 20. Those plants have been closed since late January as a planned break for the Lunar New Year was extended amid concerns about the spread of the contagion.“Considering that we won’t resume production until mid-February, that will have some impact” on income and revenue in the current quarter, Uchida said.\--With assistance from Tsuyoshi Inajima.To contact the reporters on this story: Chester Dawson in Southfield at cdawson54@bloomberg.net;Tara Patel in Paris at tpatel2@bloomberg.netTo contact the editors responsible for this story: Young-Sam Cho at ycho2@bloomberg.net, Reed Stevenson, Frank ConnellyFor more articles like this, please visit us at bloomberg.comSubscribe now to stay ahead with the most trusted business news source.©2020 Bloomberg L.P.
- Reuters
FOCUS-Hyundai bet big on China. Now coronavirus is twisting its supply chain
South Korean car giant Hyundai Motor has increasingly relied on China to supply auto parts to its manufacturing hub at home in recent years. One of its main suppliers, Kyungshin, which has rapidly boosted capacity in China over the past two decades to capitalise on the country's lower labour costs and proximity to South Korea, has seen its operations hit hard by the epidemic.
- Bloomberg
Christine Lagarde's $186 Billion Coronavirus Fear
(Bloomberg Opinion) -- An infection typically hits the vulnerable hardest — and in the new coronavirus outbreak this might apply economically too. For all the geographical distance between Europe and China, the euro zone has much to fear from its spread.The disease is another challenge to the export-driven model of the monetary union, which was already struggling with the global lurch towards protectionism. It could be the first big test for Christine Lagarde, the European Central Bank’s new president, who has been a tad too optimistic about the euro area’s prospects.Coronavirus will affect Europe’s economy in three ways. First, there’s demand: China is the third-largest importer of goods and services from the euro zone, after the U.S. and the U.K. The bloc’s exports to China nearly trebled between 2007 and 2018, to 170.3 billion euros ($185.8 billion) from 60.5 billion. Over the same period, sales to the U.S. increased by about 63%. These figures matter because Europe relies extensively on global demand to drive its prosperity, as shown by its large external surplus. A slowdown in China sales will cause trouble in a number of industries such as luxury.Then there’s supply. Europe's manufacturing supply chains are less exposed to China than is the case for other regions of the world, according to a report by Oxford Economics, a consultancy. However, it notes that some industries might be more exposed: The Wuhan area, where the virus originated, is a major automobile hub and home to production sites of carmakers including Peugeot SA and Renault SA.Finally, there’s the effect of the outbreak on confidence. Europe’s financial markets have been resilient so far: The Stoxx Europe 600 index is still marginally up since the start of the year. It’s possible some companies will benefit from the disruptions, as producers have to look for alternative suppliers. However, coronavirus could weigh on investment decisions in the euro zone. An investment slowdown would create long-term economic damage, even if supply and demand in China rebounded quickly.These factors matter for every economy in the world, not just the euro zone. But the monetary union’s economy is already very weak. Growth slowed to just 0.1% in the last three months of 2019, the worst quarterly performance since 2013. From Germany to Italy, the industrial sector had a terrible end to the year. Unemployment continues to fall and wage growth remains solid, which should support internal demand. However, the euro area has been exposed to a succession of external shocks. The longer the coronavirus episode lasts, the higher the risk it spills into the domestic economy.The ECB is yet to react, and is still in wait-and-see mode after cutting rates and relaunching quantitative easing in September. Lagarde had even dropped some hints of optimism over inflation, which has stubbornly stayed well below the central bank's target of close to but below 2%.The waiting game may not last for long. As well as holding back growth, the virus may also force inflation down too. Oil prices have plummeted because of the slump in demand from China. The OPEC+ group of oil-producing countries is struggling to agree a new cut in production to help support prices.The euro zone mostly imports crude, so in theory any fall in its price should be good for its economy: Consumers would have more cash to spend on other goods, and companies would see their energy bills fall. In any case, central banks usually prefer to look through changes in energy prices and concentrate on “core” inflation.Yet the memories of 2014-2015 linger in the mind of policymakers. A sharp fall in oil prices at the time contributed to a bout of deflation, which threatened to turn the euro zone into Japan. In response, the ECB launched — for the first time — a program of massive and unconditional bond purchases.Unfortunately, this time around the ECB has already used several of its weapons to combat deflation. The balance sheet of the Eurosystem — made up of the ECB and national central banks — has hit nearly 4.7 trillion euros. The ECB has pushed its main refinancing rate to zero, and its deposit rate to -0.5%. “This low interest rate and low inflation environment has significantly reduced the scope for the ECB and other central banks worldwide to ease monetary policy,” Lagarde said last week.This slightly defeatist language contrasts with Lagarde's more pugnacious predecessor, Mario Draghi, who left the ECB with the words “never give up.” It’s also as worry that the euro zone governments with low debts, including Germany, seem to feel no pressure to relax fiscal policy sufficiently to combat the slowdown.It’s still possible that the economic threat from the coronavirus will fade. A strong policy response in China could create additional demand, which would help foreign companies. But the euro zone’s poor state doesn’t leave room for error. After a quiet start for Lagarde, the difficult decisions could be fast-approaching.To contact the author of this story: Ferdinando Giugliano at fgiugliano@bloomberg.netTo contact the editor responsible for this story: James Boxell at jboxell@bloomberg.netThis column does not necessarily reflect the opinion of Bloomberg LP and its owners.Ferdinando Giugliano writes columns on European economics for Bloomberg Opinion. He is also an economics columnist for La Repubblica and was a member of the editorial board of the Financial Times.For more articles like this, please visit us at bloomberg.com/opinionSubscribe now to stay ahead with the most trusted business news source.©2020 Bloomberg L.P.
- Reuters
New Renault CEO de Meo will be much better paid than predecessor
French carmaker Renault will grant its new chief executive, Luca de Meo, a pay package of around 5.8 million euros ($6.33 million), which is an increase of nearly 57 percent of what his predecessor was awarded last year. According to company files released on Monday, de Meo, a former Volkswagen's Seat brand executive, will this year receive a fixed compensation of 1.3 million euros, an annual variable remuneration that can amount up to 150 percent of the fixed compensation and 75,000 Renault shares. Renault named Luca de Meo, who will start on July 1, at the end of last month, as the car maker looks to draw a line under a year of turmoil by finalizing a long-awaited management shake-up.
- Reuters
Renault to halt output at South Korean unit due to China supply disruptions
French carmaker Renault said on Friday its South Korean subsidiary RSM would suspend production at its Busan site for four days from Feb. 11 due to supply chain disruptions in China, where a virus epidemic has hit industrial activity. "Because of its geographical proximity, the Busan plant is the site that is most exposed to supply disruptions in China," a Renault spokeswoman told Reuters.
- Reuters
Renault-Nissan can overhaul alliance without ownership change, chairman says
Renault and Nissan can improve their alliance without altering their ownership structure, the chairman of the Franco-Japanese partnership said on Thursday, rolling back a previous push towards a full-blown merger that rankled Nissan. The comments from Jean-Dominique Senard point to an emphasis on more cooperation and operational efficiency as the automakers and junior partner Mitsubishi Motors Corp strive to rebuild profits, which have slumped in the wake of former chairman Carlos Ghosn's arrest in 2018. Renault and Nissan have struggled to repair a relationship badly strained after the arrest of Ghosn, who fled Japan to his childhood home of Lebanon at the end of last year.
- MarketWatch
Renault gets a new boss. None too soon.
Luca de Meo, a top executive at Volkswagen, will take over at the helm of the French car maker in July.
