Misgivings expressed by Japanese government officials to their French counterparts led to Renault's biggest shareholder seeking to pause the merger vote.

Japanese worries about the proposed merger's effects on the 20-year old Renault and Nissan alliance may have scuppered the proposed US$35 billion ($51 billion) merger between Renault and Fiat Chrysler (FCA).

Sources have told Bloomberg Japanese officials informed their French counterparts about fears the proposed Fiat Chrysler and Renault merger could harm Nissan.

This led the French government, which has a 15 per cent stake in Renault, to seek more time for Renault to discuss the merger and persuade Nissan's representatives to back the deal.

While Renault's unions planned to show their opposition by voting against the deal, Nissan was never so forthright in its resistance. Instead, its representatives were due to abstain from the vote.

Despite these moves, had the vote gone ahead, Renault's board would have easily progressed the merger to the next stage: formal discussions between Renault and Fiat Chrysler.