Head of Renault and Nissan Backs Away From Detroit November 17, 2006
Carlos Ghosn, the chief executive of Nissan and Renault, said he was no longer interested in adding a North American partner. DETROIT, Nov. 16 - Carlos Ghosn, the chief executive of Nissan and Renault, said on Thursday that he was no longer interested in adding a North American partner, at least until earnings improved at the two automakers that he oversees. “We don’t think the timing is right,” said Mr. Ghosn, in his first public appearance in Detroit since alliance discussions with General Motors ended last month. “The right moment” to explore a partnership, Mr. Ghosn said after speaking to …
Fiat and Renault abandon sales-at-any-cost strategy March 20, 2006
In February, Volkswagen and Fiat were the biggest winners in the European auto market while Renault, Ford Motor and the previously hard-charging Korean auto-makers were the biggest losers. Read more
Ghosn’s goal: Make Renault more global February 20, 2006
Carlos Ghosn says Renault is too reliant on western Europe. That is why he wants the French carmaker to boost its sales outside the region by 80 percent to 1.2 million cars by 2009.
Strengthening the carmaker’s global presence is one of the top goals the CEO set as part of the Renault Commitment 2009 plan announced here February 9.
To meet this objective, Renault is expanding its engineering capability outside western Europe.
“Engineering will be decentralized,” Ghosn said. “To Romania, South Korea and Brazil.”
More engineers
Jean-Louis Ricaud, Renault’s executive vice president in charge of engineering and quality, said that Renault will keep its …
No revival for Alpine
Renault will not revive its Alpine brand, but it might use the name on a future model.
“The name would be good,” said Patrick Pelata, Renault’s executive vice president for product and strategic planning, when asked about Alpine. But he said bringing back the revered brand would be too difficult.
The sporty Alpine brand was beloved by car enthusiasts for nearly half a century.
Renault bought Alpine in the late 1970s but stopped producing cars under that name in 1995, as part of an effort to cut costs.
There has been speculation that Renault would use the Alpine name to add flair to its …