Renault to take €3.6bn hit from Nissan losses

French car maker Renault said on Thursday that losses at its Japanese partner Nissan, in which it has a 43% stake, would drag on its net earnings by €3.6bn (roughly R68.7bn) in the first quarter.

Renault, which posted its first net loss in a decade in 2019, has, like Nissan, been struggling with faltering sales, a slide exacerbated this year by the coronavirus pandemic.

The two firms, which this week announced plans for more production sharing under their three-way alliance with Japan's Mitsubishi Motors in a bid to cut costs, are also embarking on individual restructuring and savings plans.

Nissan posted an annual operating loss of 40.5 billion yen (roughly R6.53bn) for the year to March 31, its worst performance since 2008/09, while net losses came in at 671.2 billion yen (about R108.5bn).

Renault is due to announce details of its turnaround plan on Friday.