Worldwide Renault-Nissan Alliance vehicle sales by region 2018

In 2018, the Renault-Nissan Alliance sold almost 764,000 vehicles to customers in its third largest market, France. Meanwhile, the United States and China were the two largest markets in 2018 with roughly 1.6 and 1.9 million units sold respectively in that year.

The Ghosn Era

Much of this alliance’s success has been credited to businessman Carlos Ghosn, who led the group during what is often regarded as the Ghosn Era. Renault-Nissan became one of the leading auto manufacturers during this era. In order to avoid looming bankruptcy, Renault first hired Ghosn in 1996. The formation of the Renault-Nissan Alliance in 1999 placed Ghosn as chief operating officer of Nissan. He would go on to be credited with saving Nissan from bankruptcy as well. The Ghosn Era would slowly begin to break apart following the leader’s first arrest by Japanese authorities in 2018. Ghosn faces charges related to financial crime including under-reporting his salary. His subsequent dismissal from Nissan lowered stock price. Stock price at both Nissan and Renault continuously fell in 2018 and 2019. Though this matches similar trends across a struggling industry, particular drops followed Ghosn’s second arrest in April 2019 and as a result of Ghosn’s flight from Japan in December 2019.