NEW YORK (Reuters) -Nissan Motor Co Chief Executive Makoto Uchida said he was “very confident” the Japanese automaker could strengthen its partnership with Renault but declined to comment on the likelihood the automakers would announce a restructured alliance this month.
“We would like to take the alliance to the next stage, more and more competitive, and that is what we are doing,” he told Reuters from New York.
Nissan is considering taking a stake in a new electric car unit that Renault is looking to carve out. Sources previously told Reuters the carmakers are readying plans to announce a potential restructured alliance this month.
Uchida said he was “very confident” that the alliance could adapt to make the three automakers more competitive.
“Each company has their own plan,” he said on a Zoom call against the backdrop of its Ariya electric crossover vehicle. “Then how the alliance can support that further is the discussion.”
Uchida said he expected global auto sales next year would finish below 2019 levels again, in line with the view that recession risks, record-high new car prices and supply chain constraints will weigh on sales.
“I would believe that next year is not going to be easier again,” Uchida told Reuters. “But we have to deal with that and we have to deliver value to the customer.”
(Reporting by Kevin Krolicki in Singapore and Ben Klayman in Detroit; Editing by Bernadette Baum)
