Nissan Motor Co said on Friday that Hiroto Saikawa would remain as the Chief Executive, backing the protégé of former boss Carlos Ghosn, even as top shareholder Renault had earlier pushed for a change in the Japanese automaker’s leadership.

Saikawa’s re-appointment is likely to be seen as a rebuff to Renault SA, which has pushed for leadership changes as a prelude to merger talks, sources at both companies have told Reuters . Saikawa, who has long opposed full integration, is seen as an obstacle to a tie-up, said sources.

Nissan has proposed that Renault Chief Executive Thierry Bollore will join the board, while Renault Chairman Jean-Dominique Senard will remain on it. The board will be increased to 11 members from eight, and will include seven outside Directors. The proposals will be put to a shareholder vote in June.

The selection for Nissan’s board has vast implications for the Nissan-Renault alliance. The tensions between the two automakers — smaller Renault has the bigger stake in Nissan — has long been a source of friction.

The board unanimously backed Saikawa, even while acknowledging he may have not done enough to rein in Ghosn, as said by one external director.

“While there are issues pertaining to Saikawa’s responsibility, we feel it is more constructive to focus on co-operation within the alliance, Nissan’s recovery and its strategic plan,” said Keiko Ihara.

“We had a robust debate, we took our time to look at the risks ... but in the end all of the directors agreed to the appointment,” she said.

Lacklustre performance

Nissan’s uninspiring performance in the months since the dramatic ouster of Ghosn in November has sparked concern at the French automaker.

Renault owns 43 per cent of its bigger partner and analysts estimate that Nissan’s planned 30 per cent dividend cut this year will wipe around €130 million ($145 million) from the French company’s earnings.

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