Renault taps new leaders to replace jailed Ghosn

PARIS - French carmaker Renault named two experienced auto executives to replace arrested boss Carlos Ghosn on Thursday, signaling the start of a new era for the manufacturer and its vital but strained alliance with Nissan and Mitsubishi.

Thierry Bollore, who has been running Renault since Ghosn was arrested in Japan in November, will take over as chief executive, while Jean-Dominique Senard, CEO of tire giant Michelin, has been named its new chairman.

In his first reaction to his appointment, Senard moved to reassure investors of his faith in the Renault-Nissan-Mitsubishi alliance, calling it "absolutely essential".

Ghosn, previously the most influential man in the global car industry, had resigned from both roles at Renault late Wednesday as he remains behind bars awaiting trial.

The 64-year-old had already been sacked as chairman of Mitsubishi as well as Nissan, where Ghosn is suspected of under-reporting tens of millions of dollars in income over eight years.

Nissan welcomed the Renault announcement, expressing hope for a "new chapter" in ties between the partners.

"This is a big milestone that we are reaching," Nissan chief Hiroto Saikawa told reporters in Tokyo.

As head of Renault since 2005, Ghosn was the keystone of the company's alliance with Nissan and Mitsubishi, forging an industry powerhouse that together sold more cars than any of its rivals last year.

French Finance Minister Bruno Le Maire said Paris would be "extremely vigilant" about the globe-trotting tycoon's severance pay.

Ghosn has denied the charges, but with his release from jail unlikely anytime soon, Renault's board had been gearing up to name new directors.

It had been widely expected to name Bollore, 55, who has been at Renault since 2012, as permanent CEO and Senard as chairman.

With years of experience in Asia, Bollore is seen at Renault as the right man to steer the French company forward in its Japanese alliance, which has been badly rattled by the Ghosn scandal.

Senard, who will become Renault chairman while continuing to run Michelin until May, is meanwhile well-liked by the French government, Renault's biggest shareholder with a stake of more than 15 percent.

Michelin, the world's second-biggest tire maker, said Senard had its "full backing" and would ensure "the most rigorous ethical standards" while he was still working at both companies.

Senard has requested a pay cut at Michelin until he steps down, the company added.

The future of the Renault-Nissan-Mitsubishi alliance has been thrown into doubt with the arrest of Ghosn, who is widely credited with reviving Nissan and fusing together two vastly different corporate cultures.

Renault posted record sales of nearly 3.9 million vehicles last year and is financially healthy, but it is grappling with the shift to electric cars as governments worldwide impose stricter emission cuts.

E-vehicles require far fewer workers to build, and Renault has targeted 4 billion euros ($4.5 billion) in cost cuts by 2022. Analysts say Bollore's various positions in the car industry in Asia, including Japan, give him valuable experience that will be helpful in soothing relations with his Japanese partners.

Renault owns 43 percent of Nissan, which in turn has just a 15 percent stake in its French partner - and no voting rights.

But Nissan's market value is nearly double that of Renault's, prompting some predictions that the Japanese side will seek to rebalance the terms of the relationship.

It remains unclear who will replace Ghosn as head of the alliance, a role traditionally reserved for Renault's CEO, while Nissan chooses its vice president.

Nissan said separately that it would hold an extraordinary shareholders' meeting by mid-April to remove Ghosn from its board, having already stripped the Franco-Lebanese-Brazilian executive of the chairmanship.

AFP