PARIS — Renault is ending its common purchasing agreements with alliance partners Nissan and Mitsubishi with a view to having a more agile structure that can make decisions more quickly.
The move is aimed at better adapting to automotive markets that are becoming more regional due to differences in regulations, such as over electrification and connectivity, Renault said on Tuesday.
The alliance’s purchasing organization will evolve into distinct entities focused on a project-by-project approach, Renault said.
Renault and Nissan finalized at the end of July the terms of a restructured alliance after months of negotiations.
Talks dragged on months longer than expected due in part to Nissan, which was concerned about protecting its intellectual property in future collaborations.
The July agreement freed both companies to focus on the more pressing problem of navigating the fast-changing industry landscape.
For Nissan, that means contending with an increasingly grim outlook for foreign automakers in China, the world’s biggest car market, while Renault is focusing on creating a separate electric vehicle business called Ampere.