Nissan denies report on Renault holding company

The Japanese business daily Nikkei, citing an interview with Nissan president Carlos Ghosn, said Russia\'s leading auto maker AvtoVaz, which is 25 percent owned by Renault, would be incorporated in the proposed company.

Romania\'s Dacia and South Korea\'s Renault Samsung Motors -- both subsidiaries of the French auto maker -- would also be included, it said.

But a Nissan spokesman denied the report, calling it "purely speculative."

"Mr Ghosn didn\'t say that Renault and Nissan are leaning toward establishing a holding company," Nissan spokesman Mitsuru Yonekawa told AFP.

"Mr Ghosn has insisted that the alliance will continue to evolve."

If realised, the plan would mark the first time that major auto makers in countries across the globe came together under a single holding company, the Nikkei had reported on its morning edition.

The Nikkei said the new company would draw up development, production and sales strategies, with each unit cooperating to execute the measures, including the exchange of personnel and technologies.

Such a structure would help expand the use of common parts and joint procurement, the Nikkei said, citing Ghosn.

Nissan and Renault entered a capital partnership in 1999. Renault currently owns a 44.3 percent stake in its Japanese partner, while Nissan holds 15 percent of the French auto maker\'s shares.

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