Renault Digs in on Plan to Name Board Member at Partner Nissan

Chinese workers stand next to a Kadjar car at the production line of France's Renault and China's Dongfeng Group factory in Wuhan, Hubei province on February 1, 2016. French car giant Renault opened its first car factory in China on February 1, the last major manufacturer to set up a plant in the world's biggest auto market. AFP PHOTO / JOHANNES EISELE / AFP / JOHANNES EISELE Photo credit should read JOHANNES EISELE/AFP/Getty Images

Renault SA is pushing ahead with its plan to name a new director to the board of Nissan Motor Co. and safeguard power within their car-making alliance, signaling mounting tension between the two companies almost a month after the jailing of leader Carlos Ghosn.

“Renault wants to exercise the possibility to name its directors and this will be done at a shareholders’ meeting,” Martin Vial, a Renault board member and head of the agency that holds the French government’s stake, said in an interview Dec. 18 on BFM Business.