By Stephen Wilmot and Elena Vardon

Renault said it would take a roughly $11 billion charge on its stake in Nissan after changing the way it accounts for its shares in the Japanese carmaker.

The move mirrors a gradual loosening of ties between the two companies, which have been unwinding their cross-shareholdings following the unraveling of a global alliance previously kept together by former boss Carlos Ghosn.

The French carmaker's accounting change comes just weeks after Chief Executive Officer Luca de Meo, who helped lead the shift to a looser alliance structure, said he would step down to become boss of luxury conglomerate Kering, which owns Gucci and Yves Saint Laurent.

While Renault has thrived in recent years under de Meo, Nissan has struggled to sell enough cars to justify its footprint, leading to a failed merger plan with Honda, a change of CEO and waves of job cuts.

Nissan's stock price is now lower than when Renault built its stake more than two decades ago, requiring the French company to report losses on the book value of its Nissan shareholding when it sells shares. The move announced Tuesday will align the holding value of the remaining stake with its stock-market value, reducing the risk of further write-downs.

Renault said the 9.5 billion euro noncash charge, equivalent to about $11.2 billion, wouldn't impact the calculation of its dividend. The hit will be recognized in its first-half income statement mostly in operating income and expenses, the company added.

The French company, which owns 35.71% of the Japanese carmaker, had previously accounted for the stake under the equity method and will now treat it as a financial asset measured at fair value through equity.

After the change, any movement in Nissan's stock will be directly recognized in equity and have no impact on Renault's net income.

"The operational projects and collaboration resulting from the strategic cooperation between Renault Group and Nissan remain intact with a pragmatic and business-oriented approach," the company said.

Write to Stephen Wilmot at stephen.wilmot@wsj.com and Elena Vardon at elena.vardon@wsj.com

(END) Dow Jones Newswires

July 01, 2025 06:36 ET (10:36 GMT)

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