According to the Financial Times, the absence of former chairman Carlos Ghosn has dealt a significant blow to the Renault-Nissan alliance.

Some shared functions have been cut as divisions within the business downsize their workforce.

Ghosn’s operational hub, known as the “CEO office,” was instrumental in overseeing daily alliance operations. Following the dissolution of his office, the cooperation between Renault and Nissan has significantly scaled back. Prior to his arrest in November, Ghosn had committed to deepening the integration between the two automotive giants and making their alliance more solid. This initiative had been in progress for a while, with Ghosn appointing leaders for joint functions across various areas such as quality control, engineering, and procurement in March 2018.

As early as 2017, Renault and Nissan had a collaborative light commercial vehicle unit that reported to Ghosn. This unit aimed to leverage Nissan’s truck sales data in key markets while benefiting from Renault’s van expertise. However, with Ghosn no longer in the picture, the dynamic has shifted, causing a significant strain in the relationship between the two automakers. Some joint operations have been discontinued, while others have been put on the back burner, as detailed by the Financial Times.

Given that Renault holds a 43% stake in Nissan, Nissan has been striving for greater influence within the alliance. The situation escalated further when Fiat-Chrysler approached Renault for potential merger talks, excluding Nissan from any decision-making, thus escalating tensions in the partnership.