Nissan falls behind Renault in market cap a year after equal alliance

TOKYO -- A year after Nissan Motor and Renault Group agreed to rebalance their alliance to a team of equals, the Japanese automaker has slipped behind its French partner in market capitalization amid struggles to adapt to shifting market environments.

Nissan's group operating profit fell 99% on the year to 995 million yen ($6.45 million) for the first quarter ended June 30. Nissan's share price was down as much as 11% at one point Thursday, the day that the earnings results were released.