Renault, Nissan, Mitsubishi Hail Alliance, Dodge Talk of Nissan Chair

The heads of Renault, Nissan and Mitsubishi affirmed their alliance on Thursday but avoided talk of who should be Nissan's next chairman.

The executives also sidestepped discussion of fully merging their companies. Renault has favored the idea and was pursuing it when Carlos Ghosn was arrested in November on suspicion of financial misconduct.

Earlier today, new Renault CEO Thierry Bollore reiterated to reporters in Paris that Renault wants to make the 20-year-old alliance “irreversible.” Ghosn used the same term last year to describe his vision for the partnership

At the time of his arrest, Ghosn was chairman and CEO of Renault and chairman of Nissan, Mitsubishi Motors, which is controlled by Nissan, and the entity that oversees the partnership involving all three carmakers. He has since been stripped of those titles.

Renault, which owns 43% of Nissan, has the right to name the Japanese carmaker’s chairman. But Nissan, which has chafed at Renault’s control, contends that concentrating too much power in one executive was the cause of Ghosn’s alleged transgressions.

Renault has already nominated its new chairman, Jean-Dominique Senard, to Nissan’s board. The French government, which holds a 15% stake in Renault, has suggested that he become Nissan’s new chair. But Senard kicked off two days of talks with Nissan’s leadership today by declaring it’s too soon for such discussion.