Despite persistence that the Alliance was in the verge of breaking up post Carlos Ghosn, Renault, Nissan, and Mitsubishi have jointly announced that they are instead deepening their relationship. This is not just to maximize the collaboration within each Alliance member, but also to enhance their competitiveness globally.

The new framework, ratified at a meeting of the Alliance Operating Board (AOB) in Yokohama, Japan, will enhance the ability of the Alliance member companies to capitalize on the individual company’s strengths and complement their strategies.

The AOB also reaffirmed key programs outlined at the previous board meeting in November to support initiatives that will enable each member company to increase competitiveness and profitability amid the industry shift to new mobility services.

Among the plans in place include an engineering model that will work on a leader/follower model covering platforms, powertrains, and other key technologies. This means that one company will take the lead in the Alliance for the development of each key technology, which will then be spread among Alliance partners.

Interestingly enough, the Alliance revealed the so-called “leader” for each key market. Nissan will take the lead for China, Renault for Europe, and Mitsubishi for Southeast Asia.

As a consequence of this announcement, the three companies will announce changes to their own strategic mid-term plans which will be disclosed in further detail coming May 2020.