TOKYO - Nissan has insisted that it is in "no way" considering dissolving its alliance with Renault and Mitsubishi, following reports that the Japanese carmaker had been making contingency plans for a possible split.
"The alliance is the source of Nissan's competitiveness. Through the alliance, to achieve sustainable and profitable growth, Nissan will look to continue delivering win-win results for all member companies," Nissan said in a statement on Tuesday.
The carmaker's statement follows media reports that executives at the company had been expediting plans for a possible split from its French partner. Tensions have long-been reported between Nissan and Renault and have been punctuated by former Nissan chief Carlos Ghosn's arrest in 2018 for financial misconduct and his subsequent escape to Lebanon last month while on bail.
Ghosn forged the alliance between the two carmakers as well as Mitsubishi Motors, rescuing Nissan from near-bankruptcy around 20 years ago. Now considered a fugitive for jumping bail, Ghosn, a once-feted business heavyweight who holds Brazilian, French and Lebanese citizenship, was widely credited as the force behind Nissan's rapid turnaround from near-bankruptcy since 1999.
In 1999, Ghosn was sent to Nissan and served as the chief executive officer following the Japanese carmaker's capital alliance made with Renault. He served as Nissan's president from 2000 and its chief executive officer from 2001 to 2017 and oversaw the auto group becoming the second-largest of its kind behind Volkswagen, according to 2018 sales figures.
Ghosn lost his chairmanship posts at all three carmakers after his arrest in 2018.