Japan automaker Nissan reports profit rise despite China stumble, outlines Renault alliance

TOKYO (AP) — Nissan and Renault have formally redefined their French-Japanese auto alliance into a more equal one in cross-shareholdings, both sides said Wednesday.

The disparity between the holdings has long been a cause of friction in the alliance, set up in 1999. At the start, Nissan, based in the Japanese port city of Yokohama, had been on the verge of bankruptcy.

Under the latest terms, which still need regulatory approval expected by the end of the year, Nissan Motor Co. will invest 600 million euros ($663 million) in Ampere, Renault’s electric vehicle and software entity in Europe.

Renault Group and Nissan will retain cross-shareholdings of 15% in each other, and Renault will transfer 28.4% of its Nissan shares into a French trust, so that voting rights of both sides will be capped at 15% of the total, they said in a statement.

“The agreements that have been signed today allow us to step into the next chapter of the alliance,” said Jean-Dominique Senard, chairman of the alliance.

The deal initially announced earlier this year also calls on the companies to work together on marketing, vehicles and technology in Latin America, India and Europe.

Nissan also announced financial results, which showed that April-June net profit more than doubled to 105.5 billion yen ($753 million). While Nissan’s vehicle sales volume in China declined because of the negative effects of the coronavirus pandemic, other regions’ sales grew significantly.

The weak yen also helped Nissan’s bottom line. The weak yen generally helps the results of Japanese exporters like Nissan by raising the value of overseas earnings when converted into yen.

Quarterly sales grew 36% to 2.92 trillion yen ($20.8 billion). Nissan lowered its sales forecast for the year through March 2024 to 3.7 million...