Shulou(Shulou.com)11/24 Report--

According to three people familiar with the matter, Japanese carmaker Nissan's special emphasis on intellectual property protection complicates Renault's plans to restructure its business.

French carmaker Renault is restructuring its operations in many ways. On the one hand, Renault plans to restructure its electric vehicle business and persuade Nissan to invest in its new electric vehicle division, Ampere.

At the same time, Renault plans to spin off its fuel-car business Horse and sell a majority stake in it to Geely.

Nissan is concerned about how to protect its intellectual property rights, which requires Renault to continue multi-party negotiations and possibly complete multiple deals at the same time.

Nissan also hopes to ensure that its key internal combustion engine and hybrid technologies are protected in Renault's agreement with Geely, two people familiar with the matter said.

One of the people familiar with the matter said progress had been made in the deal between Renault and Geely after talks in London last month, but he did not provide details. Li Shufu, Geely's chief executive, had been personally involved in the negotiations in London, the person familiar with the matter said.

There had been news that Geely might acquire a large stake in Renault's fuel car business.

Talks between Renault and Nissan took place last week in Paris, France. Nissan chief executive Makoto Uchida said last week that he and Luca de Meo, Renault's chief executive, were communicating every weekend.

Nissan's concerns about intellectual property protection are also one of the reasons why it has not yet reached a preliminary agreement to invest in Ampere, the Renault electric vehicle division. People familiar with the matter said there were still unresolved issues on the intellectual property rights of cutting-edge technologies such as solid-state batteries.

Among the issues discussed between the two sides is the need to ensure that any technology transferred to Ampere remains within the electric vehicle division, two people familiar with the matter said.

Mr Uchida said Nissan's goal was to restructure an "equal partnership" to enhance the competitiveness of both sides in the transition to electric vehicles.

Renault owns 43 per cent of Nissan, while Nissan owns 15 per cent of Renault without voting rights. The two sides have been discussing reducing Renault's stake in Nissan to 15 per cent, according to people familiar with the matter.

In January, the Renault-Nissan alliance announced plans to invest a total of $26 billion. But the investment is only half that of Volkswagen, its larger rival.

Mr Uchida said it was important to reach a co-investment optimization agreement with Renault because the Renault-Nissan alliance's investment was still smaller than what he called a "big OEM" investment plan.

Mr Uchida also said Nissan wanted to see its interests treated "fairly" in Renault's new partnership with Geely.

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