The "Team." Nissan's President Yoshikazu Hanawa and Executive Vice President Carlos Ghosn, the latter from Renault, have pledged to join forces. Nissan is claiming the honor of being the first to demonstrate a fuel-cell vehicle employing a methanol-reforming system. Nissan plans to sell this two-seat electric city runabout.

After the marriage in which Renault invests in an infusion equivalent to 36.4% of Nissan's capital, the combined alliance becomes the world's fourth largest automobile manufacturers after GM, Ford, and Toyota, and slightly ahead of the Volkswagen-Audi group and DaimlerChrysler, taking a 9.1% share of the world's vehicle production (December 1998 statistics).

Planned activities include a joint procurement scheme, launch of Renault models in the Mexican market, launch of Nissan-sourced pickup models in Renault's network, Renault's sharing of Nissan's ASEAN and Mexican manufacturing capacities, cooperative R&D activities in Europe, Nissan supplying SUV models to Renault, technology sharing including Nissan's CVT, all-wheel-drive system, Renault's new manual transmission, and so on. In the medium and long terms, the synergy effects will have 10 platforms between the two companies, reduced from Renault's eight and Nissan's 26, and eight engine and transmission combinations to the current 27 between the two. More specifically, Nissan announced that its European small car Mirca and Renault's Clio would share the same platform. The Japanese March, currently the Micra's twin, will likely to carry on with a Japanese platform. The combined Micra and Clio production will reach one million units per year.

The new Nissan's management structure has been completely overhauled from the traditional Japanese one to a more westernized system, comprising the board of directors and an army of operating officers. While the amalgamation is in progress, Nissan's product and technological activities are moving at their usual fast " if not faster " clip. Nissan took the honor of being the first automaker to demonstrate a fuel-cell vehicle with hydrogen supplied by a methanol-reforming system to the press. Hideo Ito of Nissan's product and technology planning department tells that it is still an early experimental vehicle, which is carrying something of a mini chemical plant in the cargo compartment.

In the latter part of the year, Nissan will launch its own gasoline engine/electric hybrid car. It is based on the Tino small MPV, and is powered by a 1.8-L inline four-cylinder engine, combined with a three-phase synchronous 20-kW (27 hp) propulsion motor (versus the Toyota Prius' 1.5-L engine and 30-kW (40 hp) motor). Drive split is via a steel-belt-type CVT employing two transfer clutches. The Tino hybrid is equipped with a 345-V 25-kW lithium-ion battery pack. Nissan is to offer the Tino hybrid at a competitive price in the Japanese market.

On the product side, Nissan has launched two new vehicles in quick succession this summer, the replacement model for the Serena minivan, which is now front-wheel-drive, and the Cedric/Gloria large sedan series. The Serena is a clever amalgamation of several advanced features in a new low-floor, roomy body shell. The features include a direct-injection diesel with a variable nozzle turbocharger and located by an innovative active vibration-damping mounting system, all independent suspension, CVT, and a new hydraulic torque transfer device for all-wheel-drive. Some of the promised advanced features for the Cedric/Gloria luxury car are apparently held in abeyance to get the car sooner to the market. They include the high-efficient and high-torque-transmitting toroidal CVT and an adaptive cruise control system employing a weather-beating short-wave radar (a laser-radar system is available). Now, it is the corporate efficiency that must be improved, with the impetus of the new French connection.