Renault-Nissan-Mitsubishi to set up $1 billion venture capital

January 10, 2018

LAS VEGAS- The alliance of France's Renault SA and two Japanese automakers--Nissan Motor Co. and Mitsubishi Motors Corp. said Tuesday it will set up a venture capital fund that will invest up to one billion dollars for promoting mobility innovations.

The investment to be made over the next five years will go to start-ups engaged in the development of new mobility technologies, including vehicle electrification, autonomous systems, connectivity and artificial intelligence.

The fund's launch apparently reflects the alliance's hope to cope with rapid changes in the environment surrounding the automobile industry.

Meeting the press at a hotel near the venue of CES, one of the world's largest consumer electronics shows that opened in Las Vegas on Tuesday, Carlos Ghosn, chairman and chief executive officer of the Renault-Nissan-Mitsubishi group, said the creativity of people outside the group will be necessary, stressing the significance of the venture capital.

This was the first time for Ghosn, former Nissan president, to appear before the press since a vehicle inspection scandal hit Nissan in September last year.

But he refrained from commenting on the scandal, in which the automaker was found to have used unauthorized workers in its finished vehicle inspections in Japan. Ghosn became president of Nissan in 2000 and stayed in the post until April last year. Jiji Press