• Tweeter

  • republish

Clotilde Delbos, the new Acting Director General of Renault, and the boss of the group Jean-Dominique Sénard, Boulogne-Billancourt, October 11, 2019., REUTERS / Charles Platiau

An extraordinary board of directors of the French car group Renault voted on Friday to replace general manager Thierry Bolloré. He is particularly blamed for his bad relations with the Japanese Nissan.

Thierry Bolloré has been removed from Renault's governance. It's official and the current CFO Clotilde Delbos has been appointed Executive Director for an interim period this Friday, October 11th. Thierry Bolloré denounces " an ominous coup de force ". According to him, the bottom line is that he was appointed in 2018 by Carlos Ghosn .

For its part, Renault blames her first poor results at the head of the group. The automotive group spent more than 700 million euros in cash in the first quarter. Then, his bad relations with the Japanese Nissan that could hinder the development of the alliance between the two manufacturers. Finally, Thierry Bolloré has never managed to build a relationship of trust with the president of the group Jean-Dominique Senard.

The end of the Ghosn era

This eviction will allow the car group to turn the page of the era Carlos Ghosn. The former fallen CEO, who is awaiting trial in Japan, had made Thierry Bolloré his successor.

A change in governance that should satisfy the French state, the largest shareholder of Renault with 15% of the capital. Because for the French government, what matters today is the stability of the alliance with the Japanese Nissan of which it holds 43%.

For its part, Nissan has also changed its direction. On October 8th, the Board of Directors appointed Makoto Uchida as Chief Executive Officer. The man should allow to revive the alliance.

► See also: Bad results, misappropriation: Nissan CEO Hiroto Saïkawa resigns

A weakened alliance

This Renault-Nissan alliance, which also includes Mitsubishi, has indeed been weakened since the arrest of Carlos Ghosn. It is certainly today the world's largest car manufacturer in terms of cars sold. But it is experiencing difficulties in a crisis context for the entire automotive sector.

Not to mention that the alliance must face the rise of Chinese manufacturers. And develop the electric car market. This renewal of governance should make it possible to change the game and to obtain results. The markets seem for the moment reassured. The departure of Thierry Bolloré was welcomed on Friday at the Paris Bourse.