It's Official: Nissan Acquires 34% Stake In Mitsubishi, Carlos Ghosn Proposed As Chairman


After the troubling fuel economy crisis that shook Mitsubishi Motors earlier this year, the small Japanese automaker has been taken under Nissan's wing, with the latter acquiring a 34 percent equity stake. 

The decision is now official and Nissan has become Mitsubishi's largest shareholder, after paying approximately $2.3 billion. Moreover, as part of the new strategy, MMC will become part of the Renault-Nissan Alliance, helping it enter the world's top three automotive groups by global sales volumes, with 10 million deliveries in fiscal year 2016. 

"The combination of Nissan, Mitsubishi Motors and Renault will create a new force in global car-making. It will be one of the world’s three largest automotive groups, with the economies of scale, breakthrough technologies and manufacturing capabilities to produce vehicles to serve customer demand in every market segment and in every geographic market around the world", said Nissan Chairman and CEO Carlos Ghosn. "We are committed to assisting Mitsubishi Motors as it rebuilds customer trust. This is a priority as we pursue the synergies and growth potential of our enlarged relationship."

 Nissan has nominated four representatives to the Board of Mitsubishi Motors, including Carlos Ghosn as chairman-elect. The other names are Hitoshi Kawaguchi, head of global external affairs and chief sustainability officer, Hiroshi Karube, global asset manager and global controller, and Mitsuhiko Yamashita, who is Nissan's representative on the MMC board. 

Carlos Ghosn will continue to support the current MMC President and CEO, Osamu Masuko, but in order to make sure that he doesn’t leave his duties at Nissan behind, he announced a number of other management changes, which become effective on November 1, and see the current Nissan Chief Performance Officer, Trevor Mann, becoming chief operating officer at MMC. 

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