French carmaker Renault said that it would end its common purchasing agreements with partners Nissan and Mitsubishi to have a more agile structure that could make decisions quicker, according to a Reuters report on September 26.
The move is aimed at better adapting to automotive markets that are becoming more regional due to differences in regulations, such as over-electrification and connectivity, Renault said. The alliance's purchasing organization will evolve into distinct entities focused on a project-by-project approach, it added.
At the end of July, Renault and Nissan finalized the terms of a restructured alliance after months of negotiations. Talks dragged on months longer than expected due in part to Nissan, which was concerned about protecting its intellectual property in future collaborations.
Significance: The July agreement freed both companies to focus on the more pressing problem of navigating the fast-changing industry landscape. For Nissan, that means contending with an increasingly grim outlook for foreign automakers in China, the world's biggest car market, while Renault is focusing on creating a separate electric vehicle business called Ampere, the Reuters report stated.
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