KYODO NEWS - Jan 14, 2020 - 19:23 | All, World

Nissan Motor Co. said Tuesday it is "in no way" considering dissolving its alliance with Renault SA and Mitsubishi Motors Corp. following a report the automaker is bracing for a possible end to the partnership of the group rocked by the arrest of their former boss Carlos Ghosn.

"The alliance is the source of Nissan's competitiveness. Through the alliance, to achieve sustainable and profitable growth, Nissan will look to continue delivering win-win results for all member companies," the automaker said in a statement.

The statement comes after The Financial Times reported Monday that senior Nissan executives have accelerated contingency plans for a potential split from Renault, highlighting tensions in the two-decade-old partnership created by Ghosn.

Nissan's share price briefly hit an eight-year low on the Tokyo Stock Exchange in Tuesday's trading as the FT report came at a time when the automaker is struggling to turn around its flagging business.

It briefly fell 19.10 yen, or 3.0 percent from Friday to 617.80 yen, the lowest since September 2011, before ending at 618.00 yen.

The FT said such talk of potential divorce from Renault has been ramped up since Ghosn's dramatic escape to Lebanon in late December from Japan, where he was on bail awaiting trial on financial misconduct charges.

Nissan said the new alliance board set up in November is focused on "action plans to maximize the contribution of the alliance to each company's strategic plans and operating profit."

New chief executive Makoto Uchida, who took office in December, has vowed to strengthen the partnership and restore its battered earnings and governance.

Ghosn was stripped of his chairmanship posts at Nissan, Renault and Mitsubishi after his arrest in 2018.

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