Nissan, Renault confident of finalizing alliance deal soon

TOKYO — Nissan and Renault are working well together to sign a final agreement about the reshaping of their alliance and are confident that a deal will be reached soon, Nissan said in a statement on Friday.

The automaker was responding to an earlier report by Japanese news agency Jiji which said that the final contract on the reboot of the alliance may be delayed until after April due to extended discussion on electric vehicles and intellectual property.

The companies plan to reshape their troubled alliance to ease longstanding tensions. Nissan wants to reduce the influence of Renault in its business.

The companies said in January that Renault will reduce its stake in Nissan to 15 percent from about 43 percent now. Renault will transfer 28.4 percent of Nissan shares into a French trust, making the two more equal partners in the alliance.

A final pact was set to be reached by the end of the first quarter and the deal is scheduled to close in the fourth quarter, the companies said in January.