Fiat Chrysler Automobiles’ merger offer for Renault was “in the past” and the two parties have not resumed discussions, the French carmaker’s CEO, Thierry Bollore, said.
“We are not talking to each other, this is in the past, the offer was on the table, it’s no longer on the table,” Bollore said at the Frankfurt auto show on Tuesday, adding that it was a matter of regret.
According to Reuters, Bollore said he was sure FCA also regretted not gaining access to Renault-Nissan’s so-called Common Module Family of architectures that is expected to underpin 70 percent of the alliance’s vehicles by 2020.
In June, FCA withdrew a $35 billion merger offer for Renault after the French company’s board failed to reach a decision on the offer.
Bollore did not directly answer when asked if Nissan CEO Hiroto Saikawa stepping down would offer a chance for Renault and Nissan to rebuild a relationship that soured after the arrest of Carlos Ghosn last November.
“The top priority for Renault is the recovery at Nissan, because an alliance can only be healthy when all partners are healthy,” he said.
Bollore said the search for a new Nissan CEO was a “board matter” that was “ongoing.”
Nissan said on Monday that its chief operating officer, Yasuhiro Yamauchi, will serve as acting CEO while the company seeks a full-time boss and that the company hopes to pick a new CEO by the end of October.
Peter Sigal contributed to this report
