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REPORT: Ghosn still thinks Renault-Nissan should have partnered with GM in 2006
With all the trials and tribulations General Motors has endured during the past year, we almost forgot that the Detroit, MI-based automaker nearly got itself tied up with Renault-Nissan. Back in 2006, the two companies discussed joining forces to become a singular global automotive juggernaut, but in the end, GM felt it was in its best interests to go it alone and face the quickly disintegrating global automotive market by themselves.
While GM's situation ultimately improved via bankruptcy and a $50 billion helping hand from the U.S. government, Renault-Nissan CEO Carlos Ghosn still thinks the partnership would have been "without a doubt" in everyone's best interests. Ghosn reportedly made the comments during a meeting of the Council on Foreign Relations, adding that "there was a possibility to create something that would be extremely competitive."
Ghosn then went on to say that he wasn't happy the two companies didn't end up working together after GM nearly collapsed because "when you see the disaster and the waste of energy and skills and talent, nobody can be happy." The charismatic CEO also said that Renault-Nissan was very concerned about GM's precarious position earlier in the year due to the fact that his company uses many of the same suppliers. If GM had gone down, it would have probably taken more than a few suppliers with it, and Ghosn says that as a result, Nissan wouldn't have been able to make a single vehicle in North America.
While we can definitely understand why Ghosn would have preferred that the marriage of his company to GM was consecrated, we still don't see how it would have helped The General in the long run. GM still would have been in a very uncompetitive cash situation, and Renault-Nissan doesn't have much in the way of technology or platforms that the General doesn't already the equivalents to.
[Source: The Detroit News | Image: Raveendran/AFP/Getty]
Reader Comments (Page 1 of 2)
Beastage 11:06AM (11/20/2009)
He thinks guys, thinks.... at least I hope so.
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John H. 3:33PM (11/20/2009)
Clearly, Ghosn wants GM's new bankruptcy-free vehicle platforms
Throwback 11:06AM (11/20/2009)
Well, as a part owner of GM, make me an offer for my shares. At this point I will be happy to get 10 cents on the dollar.
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Sea Urchin 11:06AM (11/20/2009)
"REPORT: Ghosn still things Renault-Nissan should have partnered with GM in 2006"
I am no English major but i think that Ghosn THINKS not THINGS.
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dasupersprint91 11:21AM (11/20/2009)
Wait, Ghosn is French, maybe he did the mistake himself!
I'm not bashing on french people, I'm one myself (Canadian)
fixitfixitstop 11:09AM (11/20/2009)
I'm available for work if AB wants a proofreader. They certainly could use one.
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lorenzo 11:11AM (11/20/2009)
I know its Friday, but maybe they should wait until lunch to start drinking
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bo3of 11:21AM (11/20/2009)
lol
ack154 11:15AM (11/20/2009)
Four out of 5 posts agree... this title is grammatically incorrect!
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Carlos de Vasconcellos 11:17AM (11/20/2009)
Well, for one thing, Carlos has those *wonderful* eyebrows. GM could use that. And for another, he looks like he is Paula Abdul's father. After all both he and Abdul are half Brazilian and half Lebanese. There!
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David 11:18AM (11/20/2009)
We will never know now. It's like losing a sh*tload of money in Vegas and thought that we should have done something different hours earlier.
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dukeisduke 11:22AM (11/20/2009)
"And here I was, in the Amazon, wrestling a fifty-foot Anaconda, while Marlin Perkins merely watched from the bank..."
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Brian 11:24AM (11/20/2009)
THINGS is still in the URL and RSS feeds.
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UCJR 11:42AM (11/20/2009)
Stare at that picture long enough and you'll swear Ghosn is staring back. Right into your soul.
Seriously, though. He and Mark LaNeve should start their own creepy-looking-guy company.
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Aznauto 12:02PM (11/20/2009)
Apparently he has not watched Titanic when a ship is sinking it is not good idea to jump abroad.
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jinushaun 1:56PM (11/20/2009)
I agree with Ghosn and Kerkorian: GM should've taken the Renault deal. Ghosn would've done similar reforms (or more)to what GM did a few months ago during bankruptcy, but without govt assistance and it would've happened two years ago.
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inline6 1:57PM (11/20/2009)
Yeah, and GM-Renault/Nissan partnership would have been of little benefit to GM. They'd probably be able to source parts more cheaply.
But the last thing they needed was more brands competing with each other in the high-volume market.
Opel/Vauxhall, Renault, and Nissan would have competed with each other in Europe. Daewoo and Samsung would have competed with each other in South Korea. And Nissan and Chevrolet/Pontiac/Saturn/GMC would have competed with each other for the volume market in North America.
And between Infiniti's launch in Europe, Cadillac's continual struggle there, and Saab's struggle for survival, period, the luxury end of the scale for the newly-formed company would have been a total basket case.
Thank God GM was smart enough to stick with dealing their own troubles instead of taking on more in a merger with another massive company. They dodged the merger bullet with Fiat two years before and with Chrysler two years after, as well. It's a good thing they did, too.
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Andrew 3:12PM (11/20/2009)
It's quite clear that you are American. Saab is not a luxury brand in Europe, and neither is Cadillac.
Infiniti is obviously too new to be anywhere near that class, I've never even seen one here, I doubt it will ever get that recognition. There are just too many competitors.
inline6 3:36PM (11/20/2009)
Andrew,
Thank you for pointing out my nationality.
However, your assumption that I don't know what I'm talking about is wide of the mark.
Infiniti, Cadillac, and Saab may not be "luxury" like Mercedes-Benz is, but the luxury market is what their parent companies' ambitions for each brand were/are. Would you agree that all three brands are at least upmarket of Opel, Renault, and Nissan?
Infiniti was just about to come on-line in Europe in 2006, from nothing. Cadillac was (and still is) selling less than 1,000 cars annually there after 10 years of attempting to sell cars there. And Saab has been teetering on the brink.
My whole point was that the two companies couldn't manage their "premium" brands (if you prefer that term to "luxury") in Europe before the merger was proposed. Having three half-assed brands in Europe would have been an even bigger disaster.
Matt T 2:28PM (11/20/2009)
LS series motor in a Z?
Or maybe that 2.0L turbo from the cobalt SS in a future 240sx that could have used the chassis from the now retired Sky and Solstice?
Or maybe a Maxima that uses the g8 chassis and is RWD?
Or maybe a VQ powered Chevy Camaro?
I can only imagine the possibilities if this partnership happened.
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