Nissan Email Trail Casts New Light on Carlos Ghosn Takedown (1)

Carlos Ghosn always said he was set up.

Now there’s some evidence to support his claim. According to people familiar with what happened and previously unreported internal correspondence, the campaign by top Nissan Motor Co. executives to dethrone one of the most celebrated leaders in the automotive industry started almost a year before Ghosn’s arrest in late 2018 for alleged financial misconduct.

The effort was motivated in part by opposition to the former chairman’s push for greater integration between the Japanese carmaker and long-time alliance partner Renault SA, the new information reveals.

While Nissan has long maintained that the ...