For the time being nothing is yet scheduled

After the failure of negotiations with General Motors (GM) Wednesday night, Earth did not stop turn at the headquarters of Renault. Budget discussions, review of deployment of the "Contract 2009", annual seminar plan on the plan produced: all "normal" appointments are cycled through. Carlos Ghosn was also careful to designate a limited number of experts in working groups to assess the merits of the alliance three, to not be distracted at the time where the manufacturer has a lot of challenges to meet. "It cannot be said that are idling." One who thinks it should come tell me in the eyes! ", has declared the week last Patrick Pélata, number two of the group to the diamond, which oversees the launch of 26 new models by 2009.

Some admit to the siege of Boulogne that the timing of these discussions was particularly poorly chosen, at the time where Renault is given intended to sell 800,000 cars, without additional ally, by 2009. Likewise, Nissan, currently facing a decline in its sales to the Japan, in Europe and the United States, probably needs to revive by its own forces.

Nevertheless, the issue of a North American alliance is fully raised. Because even before discussing with GM, Carlos Ghosn had opened the door to a US ally. "The Renault-Nissan alliance is not a closed club." A third partner can quite be considered, while keeping the same spirit. "There are no taboos and obstacles", he said the day of his arrival at the head of Renault, late April 2005. Today, all eyes turn to Ford, who made calls to the foot this summer in the direction of the pattern of Renault-Nissan, in an attempt to divert it from its contacts with GM. For the time being, nothing is yet scheduled. Neither Ford nor Renault did yesterday to comment on the opening of possible discussions. In the entourage of Ford, there was even rather to barricade the door. Alan Mulally, Boeing who actually took last week his CEO duties, while Bill Ford retains the rank of Executive Chairman, has no mission is urgent to find an Angel ally, former but rather to redress the North American automotive operations, argue analysts. For Chrysler, the third player in North America (with its brands Chrysler, Dodge and Jeep which belonged formerly to Renault), it would be surprising that German Daimler wants to dispose of it, now that it has lost its two Asian allies Mitsubishi Motors and Hyundai, and that it must wipe colossal with its Airbus share losses. But Carlos Ghosn is not human to stay on a failure, and Ford appeared to many observers, as early as July, as a more logical than GM ally. If the boss of the Renault-Nissan to open negotiations with him, his conditions would certainly be the same: first industrial synergies, catches of cross-holdings then. "If there was no agreement between Renault and Nissan shareholders, the cooperation would have been very limited. "It represents a signal within the company, and helps to solidify an alliance," he argued last week. But not question to consider a merger. "When the people of a company, it is for their business and by for an unknown foreign entity." "It seems to me fundamental to respect this principle in the enlargement of the alliance", explained this summer at the "echoes" the pattern of Renault. Synergies in purchasing, the problem is not whether they are unbalanced, as claimed by GM, but rather to determine to what degree they must go. Carlos Ghosn classifies into three categories: "passive" synergies, as a builder bought the same component as its partner, "active", when this decision results in changes of technical specifications of the cars, finally "synergies of management", the final stage where the two allies change their organization to approach an OEM set and lower their purchase price. If he is interested in a serious discussion with Carlos Ghosn, Bill Ford will have to convert to the industrial religion.