Dacia

Carlos Ghosn, former CEO of Nissan who was in Japan awaiting trial on multiple charges for misusing corporate funds and hiding his pay, has dramatically fled the country for Lebanon.

Waymo, Google's self-driving car unit, has signed a deal to commercialise autonomous vehicle services with the Renault-Nissan-Mitsubishi Alliance. According to the companies, this new agreement is "exclusive... for an initial period" and will see the partners "explore all aspects" of autonomous vehicle services in France and Japan, including passenger services and cargo delivery.

Nissan has reportedly rebuffed plans to merge with Renault, but the Japanese automaker is unlikely to oppose the proposed merger between Fiat Chrysler (FCA) and Renault. "Overall, we don't see any particularly negative aspect," Hiroto Saikawa, Nissan CEO, told reporters (including those from Reuters) after a meeting of the Renault-Nissan-Mitsubishi Alliance board.

Sources have told The Financial Times Renault is hoping to start merger talks with Nissan within 12 months, and then work on purchasing Fiat Chrysler Automobiles (FCA). According to wire reports (via Automotive News), when Saikawa was asked about whether he knew about Renault's reported plans, he replied, "not at all".

In a late night press conference in Tokyo, Hiroto Saikawa, CEO of Nissan, told reporters, including those from Bloomberg and The Wall Street Journal, he "would like to complete my responsibilities as quickly as possible and pass the baton on to the next leader". Saikawa stated he will concentrate on overhauling the company's governance structures. Its three independent directors and outside experts are currently looking into the issue and plan to deliver a report by the end of March.