Nissan Motor COO Ashwani Gupta leaves company

Japanese car manufacturer Nissan Motor’s Chief Operating Officer Ashwani Gupta will leave the company later this month to pursue other opportunities, the company revealed on Friday. 

Nissan plans to announce a new executive line-up on June 27 in light of Gupta’s departure, the company informed Reuters. 

Last month, the automaker said that the former long-time Renault SA executive would step down from the board of directors on June 27 when his term expired, casting doubt on his future as the next CEO. 

Gupta joined the company's leadership in 2019 at a time of turmoil when it saw its long-time leader Carlos Ghosn arrested and sacked.

Gupta’s allies pressed the board to promote him to the role of co-CEO in 2020 in the hopes that he would help the company get back on track after the rough patch. They also hoped he would boost the company’s alliance with Renault and Mitsubishi Motors. The promotion, however, did not materialise.

Nissan is working to finalise the terms of a sweeping reset of its decades-old alliance with Renault.

Gupta had reportedly clashed with Nissan Chief Executive Makoto Uchida when Uchida proposed closing the negotiations with Renault quickly. Gupta advised caution over the deal, which led to the clash.

Gupta had been “a driving force” in alliance projects during his tenure, the company said on Friday. He had taken key leadership positions and had many achievements to his name. It did not further detail the accomplishments.

Gupta joined Renault in India in 2006, rising to vice president in charge of its global commercial vehicle business. He left the position in 2019 when he moved to junior alliance partner Mitsubishi Motors.