Renault-Nissan Alliance Aiming For Number-Three Spot By 2018: Carlos Ghosn

The boss of Renault-Nissan, Carlos Ghosn, has declared that the French/Japanese alliance will become the third-largest automaker in the world by 2018, knocking General Motors into fourth place.

In an interview with Automotive News, Ghosn was confident that the Renault, Nissan, Dacia and newly-revived Datsun brands would be able to weather declining sales in Russia as well as take advantage of Europe's eventual economic recovery from the recent recession.

In North America, Ghosn says Nissan and Infiniti are entering a growth phase.

In that market he expects Nissan and Infiniti (Renault doesn't operate in North America) to grow 2-3 percent year on year, eventually swelling Nissan's market share to an even 10 percent by the end of March 2017.

China, meanwhile, will continue to provide steady growth. India, another key market for Datsun, will also provide further sales for the Renault-Nissan alliance.

Ghosn turns 65 in 2019 (the mandatory age of retirement for Renault employess), and has previously vowed to retire before the end of the decade.

If he can pull off his plan of boosting Renault-Nissan to the number three spot globally by 2018, it will be a fitting legacy for the man who almost singlehandedly brought both companies back from the brink of bankruptcy in the late 1990s and early 2000s. 

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