Renault announced on Thursday it had settled a core dispute in its rocky relationship with Nissan ahead of a pivotal meeting of Nissan shareholders next week in Japan, in a deal that officials hope will allow both companies to focus on strengthening the world’s largest auto alliance.
The companies had clashed over a Nissan plan, scheduled to be unveiled at the meeting, to strengthen corporate governance after the arrest of Carlos Ghosn, the former head of the Nissan-Renault-Mitsubishi alliance. Jean-Dominique Senard, Renault’s chairman, had said he would refuse to back the changes unless Renault was given more representation on three committees being established to tighten oversight at Nissan.
Renault said Thursday that Nissan had accommodated its demands by allowing Thierry Bolloré, Renault’s chief executive, to sit on one of the three panels, and Senard on another.
Renault said it “welcomes Nissan’s decision to grant Renault’s representatives a seat on the committees of the Nissan board.”
It added: “The agreement reached on Renault’s presence in Nissan’s new governance confirms the spirit of dialogue and mutual respect that exists within the alliance.”