Carlos Ghosn has not given up hope. The chief executive of Renault and Nissan continues to believe that a trilateral tie-up between his French and Japanese car groups with General Motors is "inevitable".

There are no new negotiations taking place with the US manufacturer and none is likely in the immediate future. Renault and GM considered forging a transatlantic alliance but abandoned discussions last year, largely because GM's management was not convinced this was in the best interest of the US company.