Renault Kadjar to give Qashqai run for money

Carlos Ghosn must be a very happy man indeed. The 61-year-old Brazilian-born boss of Renault-Nissan has done some pretty impressive things in his time and usually achieved his corporate goals in very short order.

Back in 1996, he was appointed by Renault to oversee a complete restructuring of the French automaker’s business and, by late 1997, the company was back in profit. Then, in 1999, while still maintaining his role at Renault, he took charge of the newly acquired Nissan which was then a financial basket case with $20bn of debt with just three profitable models in a 46-car line-up.

His Nissan Revival Plan promised a return to profit after just one year — or else he would resign. In 2000, Nissan turned a profit of $2.7bn after tax, compared with a loss of $6.46bn the previous year.