Renault-Nissan CEO Carlos Ghosn to Become Chairman of Mitsubishi Motors
Carlos Ghosn, CEO of the Renault-Nissan Alliance, will also become chairman of Mitsubishi Motors when Nissan takes a controlling stake in the Japanese automaker.
Ghosn recently hinted at a “massive” deal between his company and the soon-to-be-purchased Mitsubishi—this announcement isn’t it, as Nissan had said in May that it would nominate Mitsubishi’s chairman and a third of the company’s directors, but it’s a big one nonetheless.
According to the Nikkei newspaper, Osamu Masuko, the current Mitsubishi chairman, would be relinquishing his role to make way for Ghosn, while staying on as president of the company. Nissan is set to buy a controlling 34% stake in Mitsubishi for around $2.3 billion, which happens to equal the net loss that Mitsubishi is anticipating for the fiscal year through March.
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It’s not all doom-and-gloom, however; in fact, much the opposite. Shares in Mitsubishi Motors rose nearly 8% on Wednesday to close at their highest level since June, after Nikkei had first reported the transition would take place following a board meeting in December.
Comparisons have been drawn between Ghosn’s arrival at Mitsubishi and his rescue of Nissan in the early 2000s and his similar makeover of Renault in the 1990s, both of which have earned him the nickname “Le Cost Killer.” Ghosn is without a doubt in his element here.
Combining Renault-Nissan with Mitsubishi would create the world’s fourth-largest automotive group, but Mitsubishi’s new chairman has big plans for the alliance and aims to bring the group into the global top three. We’ll have to wait and see whether he can make it happen.
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