Nissan and Renault will be moving closer together as the alliance looks to share management teams, engineering and manufacturing in a bid to save €4.3 billion (£3.6bn) a year by 2016.

The Renault Nissan Alliance will now jointly manage engineering, manufacturer and supply chain management, purchasing and human resources from April 1. There will be a newly appointed Alliance executive vice president leading each function, and a new management committee to oversee implementation.

Management teams and the boards of Renault and Nissan finalised the plans following consultations with employee representatives.

Carlos Ghosn, Renault-Nissan chairman and CEO, said: “Convergence within these four key business functions will result in an immediate increase in efficiency and leverage our size to achieve competitive economies of scale.
“The synergies will then enable us to deliver higher-value vehicles to customers and stay at the leading edge of innovation.”

Engineering

Renault and Nissan will combine Common Module Family engineering, advanced research, powertrain development (including electric vehicles), systems engineering and testing facilities and services.

Manufacturing engineering & supply chain management

The new Alliance manufacturing function will cover global industrial strategy (including sourcing), production process engineering, production control and supply chain management.

Purchasing

Renault and Nissan have already had an integrated purchasing organization for more than a decade, but the changes to engineering and manufacturing is expected to drive efficiency within the purchasing department.

Human resources

Renault and Nissan teams will implement common HR processes throughout the Alliance, including the creation of a unified “talent management” policy across the companies’ global operations.

Ghosn will head up a new Management Committee Alliance for both brands and Christian Mardrus, senior vice president and managing director for the Alliance CEO Office and Global Logistics, will become Alliance executive vice president for Renault-Nissan BV and the Alliance CEO Office.