Nissan Motor Co boss Carlos Ghosn, nicknamed “Le Cost Killer” for turning around the once struggling Japanese automaker, is set to become chairman of Mitsubishi Motors Corp (MMC), several months after throwing a lifeline to the scandal-hit company.
The appointment is to make Ghosn the head of three major automakers, including France’s Renault SA, which holds a major stake in Nissan.
Mitsubishi’s current chairman and president Osamu Masuko is to stay on as president, the company said, adding that the changes are to take effect in December following a shareholder vote.
Photo: Reuters
Nissan came to Mitsubishi’s aid in May when it announced plans to buy a one-third stake in the crisis-hit automaker for ¥237.3 billion (US$2.29 billion), as the smaller rival wrestled with a mileage-cheating scandal that hammered sales.
“Earlier today Nissan completed the acquisition of the 34 percent equity stake in Mitsubishi Motors... and I am honored to address this event as chairman-elect of this company,” Ghosn said at a news conference in Tokyo. “Through this transaction, we are sending a clear message we believe in the underlying strength of Japanese carmaking.”
Ghosn — widely credited with turning around a nearly bankrupt Nissan and overhauling Renault in the 1990s — insisted that he would stay out of the day-to-day management at Mitsubishi.
“The board is in charge of the governance of the company,” he said. “The board is not in charge of the management of the company. That is very clear.”
However, he appointed Hiroto Saikawa, Nissan’s chief competitive officer, as his co-CEO at the maker of the Altima sedan and X-Trail sport utility vehicle so he could focus on Mitsubishi’s turnaround.
The company has admitted it had been falsifying mileage tests for years, manipulating data to make cars seem more efficient than they were.
Investors have cheered news that Ghosn would take the helm at Mitsubishi, with its Tokyo-listed stock up more than 10 percent since Wednesday.
After markets closed on Wednesday, Mitsubishi warned it was on track to lose ¥240 billion in the fiscal year to March, ballooning from an earlier net loss forecast of ¥145 billion as the scandal eats into its bottom line.
“The market expects a repeat of the V-shaped recovery Nissan saw under [Ghosn],” SMBC Friend Research Center analyst Shigeru Matsumura said. “Expectations for his strong leadership are quite high and Mitsubishi really needs that right now.”
However, Automotive News Asia editor Hans Greimel said Ghosn would likely be a “figurehead” at Mitsubishi with the tough reforms left to Masuko, despite his reputation as a tough manager.
“[Ghosn] is hoping that he can revive MMC the same way he did with Nissan,” Greimel said. “MMC has a much brighter future with Nissan than by itself, if Nissan gives support to the brand.”
“If, however, Nissan goes there with the idea of cutting and burning everything down, there would be a wreckage left” over, he said.
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