Ghosn would remain the chairman of Renault and also continue as chief executive and chairman of the Renault-Nissan-Mitsubishi alliance responsible for driving the three groups closer towards being a single global entity, the FT reported.

"You can suspect before 2022 I will stop being CEO of Renault," Ghosn told the FT.

Renault was not immediately available for a request for comment.

Last September, the Renault-Nissan-Mitsubishi alliance unveiled a 2022 mid-term plan which targeted increasing annual synergies to more than 10 billion euros, up from 5 billion in 2016.

Besides heading Renault, Ghosn serves as chairman of all three carmakers and is described as CEO of their expanding alliance, piloted by a Dutch-registered management company with no direct shareholder oversight or independent administrators - a sore point for some investors.

(Reporting by Mekhla Raina in Bengaluru; Editing by Sunil Nair)