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Since November last year, Ghosn, the former head of the Renault-Nissan alliance, was arrested on suspicion of financial irregularities. The chain reaction of the Ghosn incident dealt a major blow to the Renault-Nissan alliance, resulting in a crisis in the operating conditions of both companies. At the same time, it worsened the direct cooperative relationship between the two car companies.

In the third quarter of this year, Renault's revenue fell 1.6% to 11.3 billion euros, while sales fell 4.4%. A total of 852000 new cars were sold worldwide. Due to the decline in performance, Renault further lowered its revenue forecast for the whole of 2019 and lowered its profit forecast.

In order to improve the alliance with Nissan, the alliance has become more efficient than at present. Renault will refocus its business and, like many other carmakers, including Nissan, is grappling with falling sales caused by a weak global car market. Meanwhile, Renault is still looking for a new successor after the ouster of former CEO Thierry Bollor é.

Renault interim CEO plans to re-evaluate the strategy

Clotilde Delbos, Renault's interim chief executive, said publicly on November 19th that the company would re-evaluate Ghosn's six-year "Drive the Future" development strategy, which did not rule out the possibility of suspending production of some models or withdrawing from some markets.

"We will avoid doing this if we can," Delbos said at a conference. But we have to ask ourselves a question... Can we maintain the same strategy? I don't think so. The market is changing and we must adapt to it. "

According to the original plan, it meant that Renault would achieve an annual turnover of more than 70 billion euros by 2022, a group operating gross profit margin of more than 7%, a gross profit margin of no less than 5% during the implementation period, and a positive free cash flow. And the plan will also rely on the R & D strength and global economies of scale of Renault-Nissan-Mitsubishi, the world's largest automotive alliance, while maintaining a good financial system and cost-effectiveness.

But at a time when the global auto market is in the doldrums, sales have fallen to varying degrees in all regions, with sales in China falling 16% in the third quarter, more than three times the rate of decline in the market as a whole. in addition, the uncertainty of new European emissions regulations and Brexit have put some pressure on Renault. In response, Renault thinks the plan is too radical.

Looking for people from the automotive industry to serve as Renault's new CEO

In order to ease the alliance, Nissan's former CEO Hiroshi Nishikawa, who is close to Ghosn, was also forced to resign in September because of financial problems, and was replaced by Mr. Uchida, who is friendly to Renault.

On October 11th Renault's former CEO Thierry Bollor, who advocated taking a hard line with Nissan, was ousted by the board. Delbos, the chief financial officer, then temporarily took over from CEO. When asked if he would become the company's official CEO, Delbos refused to answer.

French media reported that Renault is looking for a more suitable CEO candidate. Bruno Lemerre, the French finance minister, said that "the next CEO has not been chosen." But because the car industry is making a fundamental transition to electric and self-driving cars, the company needs a "professional" to run it.

The final list of candidates for Renault CEO has gradually narrowed down to 3-4 and is expected to be submitted to Renault's nominating committee in the coming days.

The appointment of a new CEO will help Renault put an end to its recent series of upheavals and restore its cooperation with Nissan, thereby improving operational efficiency and achieving a rebound in performance. In addition, the two carmakers have worked closely together and are even thought to be on the verge of a full merger.

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