Renault to sell 5% stake to Nissan as carmakers rebalance alliance

French company to receive up to receive up to 657m, helping push electric vehicles unit Ampere

France's Renault has said it will sell 5% of its shares in Nissan, the first step in a plan to rebalance a troublesome partnership with the Japanese carmaker.

Renault will receive up to 765m (657m) from the sale, helping the launch of its electric vehicles unit, Ampere. However, it will book a loss of 1.5bn to reflect the sale price, which is lower than the value of the stake previously reported on its balance sheet, it said in a statement on Tuesday.