Paris, Jan. 18: Carlos Ghosn has moved to a shorter workday.

Instead of working from 7 a.m. to 11 p.m. ? a schedule that the Japanese news media have dubbed ?7-11? ? Ghosn, the chief executive of Nissan Motor, has cut back to a mere 14 hours or so a day.

?I?m trying to take a little bit more care,? he says.

?I?m saving energy that I need for the future.?

That future ? after six years as Renault?s envoy to Nissan, during which he turned around Nissan?s fortunes ? holds a new role. Renault shareholders are expected to vote on April 29 to elect Ghosn chief executive, handing him management control of both companies. This dual-chief role would be the first one tried in the auto industry.

?I?m conscious that what?s important is to be able to last,? Ghosn said recently over breakfast at Renault's headquarters in the suburbs of Paris.

?If your performance is sustainable, growing and reliable, that gives a lot of credibility to your management and to what you are doing.?

Ghosn?s credibility skyrocketed at Nissan, where he nurtured a turnaround so effective that the once-stumbling Japanese automaker has leapfrogged Honda to the No. 2 spot in Japan in just six years.

The question is whether he can improve that performance when he becomes the chief executive at Renault.