Nissan Motor Co said yesterday it will take a 15 percent stake in French partner Renault SA, a key symbolic victory that highlights the Japanese automaker's confidence in its turnaround from years of losses to record profits.
At the same time, Renault plans to raise its stake in Nissan from the 36.8 percent it took in 1999 to up to 44.4 percent, the companies said at a joint news conference in Paris and Tokyo connected by satellite broadcast.
The original alliance agreement said Renault will raise its stake to 44.4 percent and Nissan may take a stake in Renault, although the amount of that stake had not been set.
The agreement is not final and still needs government regulatory approval. It is unclear when that approval can be expected, they said.
A stronger alliance is key step in achieving the automakers' goal of keeping a balanced relationship.
At the start, it was clearly Renault that was bailing out troubled Nissan. But since then, the Tokyo automaker has achieved a dramatic recovery.
Before the arrival of Ghosn, the executive sent by Renault, Nissan had lost money in the last seven years out of eight, embarking on a dead-end strategy to match whatever Toyota Motor Corp. did in expanding the product lineup and market share.
Nissan posted ?331 billion (US$2.7 billion) in profits for the fiscal year ending in March.
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