Automotive News Europe - March 2, 2009 - 10

PAGE 10 · www.autonewseurope.com March 2, 2009 Opinion A call for a public-private automotive partnership “ Ghosn’s 2 hats get very heavy Carlos Ghosn has had a good run as the dual head of Nissan and Renault. In Japan, he was hailed as the rock star CEO who saved a national icon from doom and drove it to record profits. But that’s now changed, with Nissan poised for its first loss since his takeover. At this month’s earnings announcement, Japanese reporters assailed him with questions about his personal responsibility for the current mess. The implication: Time to fall on your sword. Ghosn can’t be blamed for the global meltdown. But the unprecedented crisis makes it easy to see how his two hats are getting too heavy. When he took the reins of Renault and Nissan in April 2005, he was the first person ever to attempt to be the CEO of two carmakers simultaneously. And since then, his star has dimmed. Hans Greimel Nissan’s Value-Up revival plan ended last year, missing its goal of 4.2 million unit sales. It also delivered a 17 percent return on invested capital, short of the hoped-for 20 percent. Ghosn’s next Nissan GT 2012 business plan was put on ice just this month. And Nissan has warned it will post a ¥265 billion (¤2.26 billion) net loss for the fiscal year ending March 31. So it’s fair to ask: Is Ghosn’s shuttling between Paris and Tokyo still the best way to run both companies? Ghosn essentially conceded it’s not when he reshuffled the top brass at Nissan on February 9 and at Renault last year. Toshiyuki Shiga, chief operating officer, will be the new hands-on man at Nissan. At Renault, Patrick Pelata took on a similar role last year to free Ghosn for more strategic decision making. “This works well because it ensures from one side that you have specific attention to the strategic moves and you have specific focus on the tactical moves,” Ghosn said. But Ghosn continues to be very busy. He just assumed the presidency of the European automaker lobbying group ACEA. And he announced plans to become chairman of Renault following the retirement of Louis Schweitzer in May. No one should expect Ghosn, who turns 55 next month, to start shedding CEO duties any time soon. The recent changes are probably as close as he’ll come to delegating responsibility. But could his rise to the Renault chairman’s office be a tantalizing sign of a cleared path for successors? At the very least, Ghosn’s management makeover shows that no man can do it all by himself. E-mail Hans Greimel at hgreimel@crain.com. From the Publisher Where’s Brussels when we need it most? Does it work? Doesn’t it work? Or facturers association. ACEA sugwill it ever work at all? gests a five-part plan. 1. Support measures have to be coIn the endless fits and starts, hand ordinated in order to ensure a levwringing and consternation over el playing field across Europe. whether the European Union can ac2. Access to liquidity has to be imtually function as a union, one thing proved by allowing state guaranhas emerged: When it comes to critees for low-interest loans. sis assistance, the EU doesn’t work. 3. Funding from the European InCountries are still operating as sinJason Stein vestment Bank must be increased gle units, despite a common currenand project validation times must cy. Taxes and incentives still differ drop dramatically. across borders. 4. Market incentives must be improved, inAnd internal battles, reflecting purely nacluding fleet renewal and public spending tional interests, still rage on. on infrastructure. In crisis, as the new US president said last week, there is opportunity for change. Now is 5. Costly regulation must be postponed and free trade balanced. the time for the EU to show some muscle, beI would add a sixth: Get an action plan tofore an industry is torn apart at the seams. gether and begin coordinating projects cenHow? Let’s start with the formula pretrally. Now. scribed by the European automobile manuAs this newspaper states in the editorial on this page, the current crisis is crying out for an official body that can bring all parties together to find a common approach. That’s the job of the EU. Not duplication, bureaucracy and delays. The EU still takes too long to get things done and still offers too little support to those who want to get things done. “The EU must show its ability to act in times of crisis,” Ivan Hodac, secretary general of ACEA, said last week. And there is no question the crisis is picking up steam. Vehicle production declined 28 percent in the last quarter of 2008 – about 10 percentage points more than expected. Now is the time to protect a sector that is vital to the European economy. Now is the time for true leadership. E-mail Jason Stein at jstein@craincom.de. Automotive News Europe www.autonewseurope.com Jason Stein: Publisher and Editorial Director Tel: (49) 8153 907522 e-mail: jstein@craincom.de Arjen Bongard: Editor-in-Chief Tel: (49) 8153 907501 e-mail: abongard@craincom.de Keith E. Crain: Publishing Director Peter Brown: Group Publisher EDITORIAL GERMANY: Argelsrieder Feld 13 82234 Oberpfaffenhofen Tel: (49) 8153 907509 / Fax: (49) 8153 907510 e-mail: aneletters@craincom.de Paul McVeigh, Managing Editor Tel: (49) 8153 907503 e-mail: pmcveigh@craincom.de Douglas A. Bolduc, News Editor Tel: (49) 8153 907504 e-mail: dbolduc@craincom.de Mark Rechtin, News Editor Tel: (49) 8153 907528 e-mail: mrechtin@craincom.de Mark Appleton, Copy Editor Tel: (49) 8153 907502 e-mail: mappleton@craincom.de Georgia Chapman, Production Editor Tel: (49) 8153 907511 e-mail: gchapman@craincom.de Tom Freiwah, Layout Tel: (49) 8153 907512 e-mail: tfreiwah@craincom.de Anita Fograscher, Editorial/Events Assistant Tel: (49) 8153 907509 e-mail: afograscher@craincom.de REPORTERS GERMANY: Bettina Mayer, Industry Reporter Tel: (49) 8153 907526; e-mail: bmayer@craincom.de John Revill, Staff Reporter Tel: (49) 8153 907527; e-mail: jrevill@craincom.de Hurtej Kaur, Staff Reporter Tel: (49) 8153 907525; e-mail: hkaur@craincom.de “ No one disputes that the European auto industry needs help to weather the current economic crisis. But neither individual countries nor the EU have found the proper dose of medicine that will cure today’s ills. Stimulus packages such as Germany’s scrappage bonuses are giving a small boost to car sales. Soft loans provided to automakers and their financial arms will help them continue to operate. But it is too early to say what longer-term impact these measures will have. It is all but certain that these incentives won’t help western Europe recover from a 25 percent slump in car demand anytime soon. The current assistance will provide some short-term relief, but if the market doesn’t re- In France, carmakers may have to accept turn to pre-crisis levels, the necessary and painful restructuring of the industry is merely curbs on their freedom to close plants if they accept government loans. being postponed. Taxpayers are footing the The current crisis calls for The auto crisis bills for these measures three things: needs a coordinated and, judging by public atti1. More joint action by individual countries and the EU tudes in the US toward the rescue effort. 2. More coordinated discussion rescue of General Motors between automakers, suppliand Chrysler, they don’t ers and governments about what is needed like it much. 3. An official body that brings all interested Moreover, national support schemes in Euparties in the auto industry together to find rope run the risk of falling afoul of EU rules, a common approach to the crisis. which forbid state aid. The European industry needs help, but govSo should the state wash its hands of the ernment or EU aid by itself doesn’t solve the auto industry and let it downsize itself withproblem. And there are many problems inher- out intervention? ent in state aid. That’s not a solution either. Plant closures mean higher unemployment subsidies and reduced tax revenues, as payrolls shrink and companies’ taxable income drops. And more people out of work means less disposable income, which cuts into retail sales. That leads to more economic distress. The auto crisis needs a coordinated rescue effort. Automakers, suppliers, dealers, national governments and the EU Commission must quickly decide how to jointly address the problems. Given the example of the block exemption process, however, this is easier said than done. The industry must display the creativity that has propelled it for more than 100 years. All the parties affected by this crisis need to sit around the table to forge a new public-private partnership to get out of this mess. ITALY: Viale Cavaglià 8, 10029 Villastellone (TO) Luca Ciferri, Senior Writer Tel: (39) 01196-91970 Fax: (39) 01196-10113 e-mail: lciferri@craincom.de FRANCE: 28, rue des petites ecuries, 75010 Paris Lawrence J. Speer, Staff Reporter Tel: (33) 147-709420 / Fax: (33) 147-709421 e-mail: lspeer@craincom.de NETHERLANDS: Pimpernel 3, 8131 GH Wijhe Wim Oude Weernink, Reporter Tel/Fax: (31) 570-521093 e-mail: woweernink@craincom.de UNITED KINGDOM: Tony Lewin, Reporter Tel: (44) 1342 822479 Fax: (44) 1342 825462 e-mail: tony@tonylewin.com CZECH REPUBLIC: Lyle Frink, Correspondent Tel: (420) 606-486729 e-mail: lfrink@craincom.de IRELAND: Olive Keogh, Correspondent Tel: (353) 1-833-5473 Fax: (353) 1-8330467 e-mail: okeogh@iol.ie JAPAN: 1-7-1 Yura Kucho, Chiyoda-ku, Tokyo 100 Hans Greimel, Asia Editor, Automotive News Tel: (81) 423-60-8767 / Fax: (81) 423-60-8768 e-mail: hgreimel@crain.com CHINA: Yang Jian, Managing Editor, Automotive News China Tel: (86) 10-8453-0390 e-mail: yangjian@autonewschina.com

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Automotive News Europe - March 2, 2009

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