Renault COO Patrick Pelata resigns over "spy" case

On March 10th, we reported that the industrial espionage case – or was it fraud or a scandalous hoax – involving three top Renault execs and the automaker's electric vehicle secrets was swirling out of control. The chaos had gotten so out of hand that a source told Reuters that:

It's likely to be Patrick Pelata who forms the shield to protect the CEO. In this story, somebody has to throw themselves on the grenade.

At the time, it was thought that Pelata, the automaker's chief operating officer, would take the fall to protect Carlos Ghosn's job as Renault-Nissan chief executive officer. Shortly after that report broke, Pelata announced his resignation, which Ghosn immediately denied. Turns out, Ghosn didn't get the last word, and Renault has accepted Pelata's resignation. The 55-year-old COO will step down from his position as Ghosn's right-hand man and assume an undisclosed role with Nissan.

[Source: Automotive News – sub. req.]