French carmaker Renault slashes stake in Japanese partner Nissan

French automobile company Renault is to trim its holding in Japanese partner Nissan as part of a deal rebalancing the troubled alliance between the two companies. The deal will also see Nissan take a stake in Renault's new electric vehicle venture Ampère.

The agreement comes after months of negotiations.
The companies described Monday's announcement as "an important milestone" on the road to defining a new basis for their partnership.

The agreement is intended to "strengthen the ties of the alliance and maximise value creation", a statement issued simultaneously by both companies said.

Renault will reduce its stake from 43.4 percent to 15 percent, the same size as Nissan's stake in its French counterpart, in what the firms said would produce "a balanced governance".

Nissan will also invest in Ampère, "aiming to become a strategic partner", the firms said, without specifying how large the Japanese stake would be.

Chinese partnership for Renault

In November, Renault announced that it would split its operations in two, creagting Ampère, and a separate subsidiary for petrol, diesel and hybrid cars that will pair up with China's Geely.

Concerns at Nissan about future technology transfers to the Chinese carmaker, as well as details over the sharing of electric vehicle intellectual property, complicated the negotiations.

A troubled relationship

The international auto alliance began in 1999, when Renault rescued Nissan from bankruptcy.

The two companies were joined by Mitsubishi Motors in 2016, when Nissan took a 34 percent stake in its struggling Japanese rival.

The union was destabilised by the 2018 arrest of Nissan boss Carlos Ghosn, who claimed the charges against him were intended to prevent him from bringing the Japanese and French automakers closer together.

Meanwhile, company date released on Monday showed that Japan's Toyota was the world's top-selling automaker in 2022, retaining its lead over German rival Volkswagen for the third year.