Ghosn’s impact is far reaching

The worldwide motor industry has few rock stars, but Renault/Nissan/ Mitsubishi Alliance head Carlos Ghosn could have claimed to be among them until his arrest in Tokyo this week.

The scale of the charges laid against him are staggering, and it remains to be seen how those play out in court.

But Ghosn’s impact on the motor industry can’t be underestimated. After turning around Nissan, he pulled off the same feat with the French giant Renault. By all accounts he was well on the way to boosting the fortunes of Mitsubishi, which he pulled into the alliance two years ago.

Driven happened to be travelling this week with someone who lived in the same Tokyo apartment block as Ghosn, and knew the Lebanese-BrazilianFrench businessman as a fellow expat in the Japanese capital. Though short in stature, his influence in forming what is the largest motor industry grouping

was immense. Over almost three decades, Ghosn is credited with changing the mainly inwardlooking, institutionalised Japanese motor manufacturers into more efficient operations with plants across the world, without compromising individual brands.

Some within those operations believe he made enemies and the attention he is receiving from Japanese authorities may be part of a complicated scenario still playing out.

Though there’s little visible sign of Ghosn’s industry achievements, don’t underestimate how much change there’s been behind the scenes in back office reforms, development of new vehicle platforms, and group purchasing.

He may have been sacked, but Ghosn’s legacy will become obvious in coming years.