The official story behind Carlos Ghosn’s arrest in Japan is that he underreported earnings, used company assets for personal gains, and falsified financial statements.
As it turns out, there may be more to this story and Nissan may have had more serious reasons to take Ghosn down. According to a report from The Financial Times, Carlos Ghosn had been planning to take the Renault Nissan Alliance one step further and fully merge the two companies — despite repeated denials from his part. That was something Nissan’s board couldn’t let happen, as it would equate to the Japanese company’s total surrender to Renault.
Renault has a 43-percent stake in Nissan which gives it unusual power over the Japanese company, including the ability to appoint senior executives. On the other hand, Nissan owns just 15 percent of Renault which gives it no voting rights or control over its French partner.
Nissan’s decision came despite Renault urging the Japanese company to delay Ghosn’s removal. So far Renault has kept Ghosn in the position of the company’s chairman and CEO, naming Thierry Bollore as interim CEO, while Mitsubishi announced its intention to follow Nissan’s footsteps and dismiss him at a board meeting a few weeks later.
In our last combined issue of the year we brought you the best of the best as always.
Results of the ArabWheels Awards 2018 ceremony are found in this issue. I would like to congratulate Jaguar on earning the EV of the Year award for the I-PACE and Volvo on earning the Car of the Year 2018 for the XC40. Next year we will be celebrating our 5th edition of ArabWheels Awards!
Our cover story has been divided by two. We feature the all-new 2019 Jeep Wrangler, the iconic off-roader from USA and the best compact premium SUV from London, the all-new 2020 Range Rover Evoque in its second generation. We also tested the new C-Class in its AMG setup, the C43-AMG. We tested many vehicles either in Beirut or Dubai, which you have requested the last few months: Ferrari GTC4 Lusso T, Ferrari 812 Superfast, Ford F-150 Raptor, Opel Grandland X, Honda Odyssey and Odyssey J. Other test drives are featured on the website.
I personally laid my hand on the Land Rover Defender designed and tuned by ARES in Modena. Believe it, it is a legacy that has been revived to fit in the present time. Pirelli, the prominent tire manufacturer, was also part of our last issue of the year from Monaco.
I would like to take the opportunity to wish you all a Merry Christmas blessed with your families, friends and colleagues and a happy healthy 2019!
Keep yourself warm when surfing our website at www.arabwheels.net and our social media
platforms: Facebook, Instagram, YouTube channel and Twitter.
Issam Eid