Nissan has announced that it will become the largest shareholder of Mitsubishi Motors Corporation (MMC) through the finalisation of a 34 percent stake purchase for a sum of 237 billion Yen and will be included as a full member of the Renault-Nissan alliance.
To kick off the induction of Mitsubishi into the fold, it was announced chat Renault-Nissan CEO Carlos Ghosn has been nominated to become the new chairman of Mitsubishi, which would place him at the helm of three major automakers simultaneously.
This, for the most part, concludes Mitsubishi’s turbulent saga following the falsified fuel economy scandal in which Japanese authorities noticed discrepancies with published consumption and mileage figures and those observed through regulatory testing. Mitsubishi admitted to supplying skewed information on fuel consumption through altering vehicle parameters during tests.
Ghosn said that the two entities would be exploring opportunities in collaboration with each other in regards to joint purchasing, deeper localisation, joint plant utilisation, common vehicle platforms, technology sharing, and the expansion of their combined presence in developed and emerging markets.
"The combination of Nissan, Mitsubishi Motors and Renault will create a new force in global car-making," said Ghosn. "It will be one of the world's three largest automotive groups, with the economies of scale, breakthrough technologies and manufacturing capabilities to produce vehicles to serve customer demand in every market segment and in every geographic market around the world.”
He continued: "We are committed to assisting Mitsubishi Motors as it rebuilds customer trust. This is a priority as we pursue the synergies and growth potential of our enlarged relationship."
In-house nominees to become the next Mitsubishi chairman are Hitoshi Kawaguchi, who had been the company’s chief sustainability officer and its head of global external affairs, as well as Hiroshi Karube, global controller and global asset manager.
Ghosn concluded: "At a time of unprecedented change in the global auto industry, this strategy will build on our existing strengths and management capabilities to ensure increased competitiveness, better products for our customers and attractive returns for shareholders.”
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