Renault-Nissan Alliance Celebrates 15th Anniversary as Four Key Business Units Prepare to Converge

AMSTERDAM--March 27, 2014: Renault-Nissan, the auto industry's longest-lasting and most productive cross-cultural partnership, celebrates its 15th anniversary today New Alliance leaders prepare for converged operations in Engineering, Manufacturing and Supply Chain Management, Purchasing and Human Resources starting 1 April Convergence is expected to increase synergies to €4.3 billion in 2016

The Renault-Nissan Alliance is celebrating its 15th anniversary today, only days before the global car group launches its next significant wave of integration.

Renault and Nissan came together in 1999, when Renault invested 643 billion yen (approximately 5 billion euros or US$ 5.4 billion at the time) for a 36.8% stake in Nissan, which at the time was close to bankruptcy. Since then, the companies have reached sales of 8.3 million units, up from 4.8 million units in 1999, and moved into the top tier of global automakers. Today, Renault has a 43.4% stake in Nissan, while Nissan has a 15% stake in Renault.

"Together, Renault and Nissan have significantly expanded their global footprint and generated economies of scale vastly larger than either company could accomplish on its own," said Renault-Nissan Alliance Chairman and CEO, Carlos Ghosn. "Renault and Nissan have charted a unique course for 15 years, maximizing synergies while nurturing each company's distinct brands and corporate culture."

The Renault-Nissan Alliance is now the auto sector's longest-lasting and most productive cross-cultural collaboration - a model business case in an industry notorious for corporate breakups.

To learn what independent, objective experts say about the Alliance and collaborations in the auto industry, watch this mini-documentary: Documentary. To see a timeline of significant events in Alliance history, check out this interactive infographic: Renault-Nissan Blog.

2013: Another Record Year

In 2013, the Alliance, including AVTOVAZ - Russia's largest automaker - sold a record 8.3 million cars.

The Renault-Nissan Alliance accounts for one in 10 cars sold worldwide, the fourth largest car group globally. The Alliance has eight brands: Renault, Nissan, Renault Samsung, Infiniti, Venucia, Dacia, Datsun and Lada.

The Alliance generated approximately €2.8 billion in synergies in 2013, another new record. Synergies are generated from cost reductions, cost avoidance and revenue increases. Only new or incremental synergies - not cumulative synergies - are taken into account every year.