Nissan May Ditch Renault Deal Over Sharing Technology With Geely
Nissan Motor Co. is willing to walk away from a deal with Renault SA to re-balance their alliance amid concerns the French carmaker wants to license hundreds of jointly developed patented technologies to other players, including new Chinese partner Zheijiang Geely Holding Group, people familiar with the negotiations said.
While both sides appeared near a final agreement two weeks ago, Nissan's board and management have recently expressed concern over Renault's plans for the intellectual property, the people said, asking not to be identified as the information isn't public.
It includes some 500 joint technologies, one of the people said, among them expertise in areas such as autonomous driving, hybrid powertrains, solid-state batteries, safety systems, battery-management software and other know-how critical for developing self-driving, electrified vehicles.
Nissan sees risks in Renault Chief Executive Officer Luca de Meo's plan to merge the French carmaker's combustion-engine operations with Geely, the people said, and are seeking assurances that key technologies will be protected under any deal with the Hangzhou-based automaker, owner of Volvo and Lotus car brands.
Makoto Uchida, Nissan's CEO, said he was “surprised” there is speculation the IP discussion may derail the wider deal, but acknowledged technology was a “very important core asset for the alliance.”
“Of course there are areas where we have to say ‘this is our core technology,' and that needs to be protected,” Uchida said in an interview with Bloomberg News Friday. “That's my duty as CEO.”
Geely didn't immediately respond to questions from Bloomberg. A representative for Renault declined to comment. Greater Control Talks have been underway for months to
Read more on tech.hindustantimes.com
