GM's alliance with Renault, Nissan expected to take 90 days: companies

U.S. General Motor's alliance with Renault of France and Nissan of Japan was expected to take 90 days after a review of potential benefits, the companies said on

Saturday.

"We had a good discussion today, and are looking forward to having our teams work together to explore our ideas," GM Chief Executive Officer Rick Wagoner and Carlos Ghosn, chief of Renault SA and Nissan Motor Co., said in a statement after a meeting in Detroit.

GM is under pressure to consider the alliance after the company had a 10.6 billion-U.S.-dollar loss last year and saw its U.S. market share dwindle to an 80-year low.

"It is important to let our teams work on this review without distraction, and therefore we will not be providing further public comments about it at this time," the statement said.

It said the companies would decide if further study was needed after the initial review.

Nissan and Renault, which holds a controlling 44 percent stake in its Japanese partner, said earlier that they looked forward to the three-way alliance, which, if achieved, could shake up the global auto industry, in addition to helping pull GM out of a financial limbo.

The partnership would enable the companies to combine some operations. Nissan, for example, could draw on GM's under-used assembly plants in the United States. The companies also could profit by using common components and sharing engineering and design expertise.

GM has been saddled with soaring health-care and retirement costs. Its U.S. market has shrunk and raw materials costs rocketed. Moreover, GM has to continue paying thousands of idled workers under labor agreements.

Wagoner, 53, has wrapped up several initiatives aimed at restoring profit at the world's largest carmaker. He is cutting 30,000 union jobs, closing plants and trying to win back buyers with new models.

Source: Xinhua