In the wake of the deadly coronavirus pandemic, car-makers globally are reeling under huge losses. While some companies are looking at possible mergers, a report by Reuters states that Renault, Nissan Motor Co and Mitsubishi Motors Corp have ruled out a merger. Instead they would cooperate more closely on vehicle development to slash costs and salvage their troubled alliance. Former chairman and chief architect, Carlos Ghosn, pushed for Nissan to merge with Renault, thus souring relations between the French and Japanese carmakers. The new plan is designed to serve as a peace treaty to resolve the long-standing tensions, senior sources told Reuters. The companies are now aiming to make savings by sharing out their production more systematically in a so-called leader-follower system, with one company leading for a particular type of vehicle and geography and the others following. The companies gave few details of how the revamp would deliver in the short term, as the car industry grapples with the fallout from the coronavirus pandemic and pressure to develop less polluting vehicles. They said in a joint statement that they aimed to produce nearly half of their vehicles under the new leader-follower approach by 2025 and hoped to cut investment per model in the scheme by up to 40%.