Renault, Nissan Join With Waymo -- WSJ
June 21 2019 - 03:02AM
Dow Jones News
By Max Bernhard
This article is being republished as part of our daily
reproduction of WSJ.com articles that also appeared in the U.S.
print edition of The Wall Street Journal (June 21, 2019).
Renault SA and its alliance partner Nissan Motor Co. have signed
a deal with Alphabet Inc.'s self-driving technology unit Waymo to
jointly explore driverless car options in their home markets of
France and Japan.
The new partnership represents a significant joint move by
Renault and Nissan, following months of acrimony in the wake of the
arrest and ouster of Carlos Ghosn -- the former chairman of both
auto makers. The deal has limited scope and mirrors dozens of
similar deals between big legacy auto makers and tech giants like
Google parent Alphabet.
Renault shares closed up 0.5% in Europe on Thursday.
Nissan's shares fell 0.1% in Tokyo trading. The decision was
announced after the market there had closed.
The two auto makers this week resolved one particularly public
bone of contention relating to Nissan's corporate governance, The
Wall Street Journal previously reported. That agreement has gone
some way in easing tensions that had scuttled the French car
maker's merger talks with Fiat Chrysler Automobiles NV.
The Waymo deal "is designed to bring together the strengths of
each party and expand expertise by assessing market opportunities,"
Renault said.
It will initially focus on driverless services for people and
deliveries of goods in France and Japan but could later expand to
other markets, excluding China, the French car maker said. Renault
and Nissan will create joint-venture companies in France and Japan
dedicated to driverless mobility services, it said.
The compromise over board committee seats paves the way for
Nissan to install a new board, a step that Renault executives see
as allowing for the possible resumption of merger talks with Fiat
Chrysler, according to a person close to Renault. Those discussions
foundered as Nissan withheld its support for a tie-up and the
French government asked for a delay until Nissan was on board --
prompting Fiat to withdraw its offer. Renault executives would like
to revive talks with the Italian-American car maker in the near
future before market conditions change, the person said.
Renault and Nissan hold stakes in each other under an
auto-making partnership that stretches back two decades. French
President Emmanuel Macron is expected to discuss the alliance when
he meets with Japanese Prime Minister Shinzo Abe next week at the
G-20 meeting in Japan.
Write to Max Bernhard at Max.Bernhard@dowjones.com
(END) Dow Jones Newswires
June 21, 2019 02:47 ET (06:47 GMT)
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