The Renault-Nissan war and the future of the automobile industry. An interview with Carlos Ghosn

On October 9th, 2024, Asia Power Watch had the privilege to interview Carlos Ghosn, ex-President of the Renault-Nissan-Mitsubishi Alliance and ex-CEO of Renault.

Together, we discussed the various aspects of the Renault-Nissan war that served as a backdrop to the legal case build against him in Japan. Mr Ghosn shared his views on the structural reasons behind this war over the control of a strategic asset, but also the cultural, political and philosophical background behind the stakeholders in this war. He particularly addressed the respective roles of members of the Japanese government as well as those in the French government, and offered a perspective on the future for the Renault-Nissan-Mitsubishi as an industrial alliance, and the future of Renault itself.

In a second part of the interview, we zoomed out and addressed the state of the world automobile industry. Mr Ghosn offered insights into his view of the consolidation trend that was started decades ago, where the name of the game was size. We also discussed the elephant in the room: the powering Chinese EV brands. Mr Ghosn shared his views on the EU and US protectionist stance and what he believes is missing for these players to compete fairly with Chinese makers. Finally, we looked ahead and discussed future vs legacy, with Mr Ghosn sharing an interesting take on Tesla…

The interview can be viewed here:

Picture credits: Asia Power Watch