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The Nissan Ariya was nearly the new Murano

NEW YORK — In addition to providing thoughts on a future Xterra while at the New York International Auto Show, Nissan Americas Senior Vice President and Chief Planning Officer Ponz Pandikuthira also talked with us a bit about EVs, and more specifically model lines and nameplates. We've seen a few strategies ranging from almost completely new and parallel model lines (such as Hyundai's Ioniqs and Kia's EV#s), to reusing old names on still similarly parallel models (such as Chevy's Equinox, Blazer and Silverado EVs), and of course blends of the two. So far, Nissan has gone with the separate model route with Leaf and Ariya, but that may not be as much the case in the future. Pandikuthira noted that now, consumers don't have as much interest in their EVs being some completely unique, statement piece. As such, both Nissan and Infiniti will be adding EVs to existing nameplates more so than totally new model lines. He didn't say whether they would simply be electric variants of existing internal combustion models, or something like Chevy's model, though. But he did note that the Nissan Ariya was, at one point, considered as a possible Murano successor. It certainly would make sense to us. The Ariya is a distinct-looking crossover, and one with a very upscale interior, both key tenets of the Murano from that model's introduction in the early 2000s. Plus, the Murano is in pretty dire need of a replacement, as the current generation dates back nearly a decade ago to the 2015 model year. The reason Pandikuthira gave for the Ariya decision was that the crossover represented enough of a change in Nissan's EV technology and capabilities that the brand wanted to highlight that with a unique nameplate. Nissan won't be ruling out the possibility of new EV-only models, though. Just like with Ariya, Pandikuthira told us that if a planned car is unique enough, the company will still be open to a new line. But expect more, say, electric Rogues and Altimas than totally new names. Related video: This content is hosted by a third party. To view it, please update your privacy preferences. Manage Settings.

Nissan could report first quarterly loss since March 2009

TOKYO — Nissan may report its first quarterly loss in more than a decade on Thursday because of slumping sales, sources familiar with the company said, adding more pressure on efforts to rebuild the company after Carlos Ghosn's ouster. Deteriorating profits underscore the challenges facing Nissan, which is unwinding many of the expansionist strategies championed by ex-Chief Executive Officer and Chairman Ghosn by slashing jobs, production sites and product offerings to save cash and ensure its survival. In addition to slumping sales, production disruptions caused by China's coronavirus outbreak could also drag profits lower. Three senior officials at Japan's No. 2 automaker told Reuters that they anticipate a poor results announcement on Thursday, with one of them calling the figures "dismal". Two of the officials cautioned that there is the possibility of an operating loss, which would be the first quarterly loss since the period ending in March 2009. Nissan said it could not comment on its financial results ahead of its official announcement. The company is likely to report operating profit of 48.6 billion yen ($442.5 million) for the quarter ending in December, less than half the 103 billion yen profit a year ago, according to SmartEstimate's survey of three analysts, who revised their forecasts in January. However, those forecasts were issued before the release of the December vehicle sales figures on Jan. 30, which show third-quarter sales dropped by 11% from the year earlier period, according to Reuters calculations. That is the biggest quarterly slump of its current sales downturn that began two years ago. That sales decline led one auto equities analyst based in Japan to scrap his forecast and also warn that Nissan could post a loss. "It will be a question of whether there will be a profit or a loss. For the quarter, a loss is a possibility," he said, declining to be named as his forecast had not been updated to reflect his latest view. One of the three Nissan officials said there is a risk the automaker may cut its full-year profit forecast of 150 billion yen, which would be an 11-year low. The company announced that forecast in November after an initial 230 billion yen outlook.

US buyers show little interest in big hybrids

The idea of producing large, luxury-vehicle hybrids is turning into a "what were they thinking?" exercise in futility, USA Today reports. General Motors is discontinuing hybrid versions of the Cadillac Escalade, Chevrolet Tahoe and GMC Yukon SUVs, while Mercedes-Benz and Toyota's Lexus division are doing the same with their S-Class hybrid and LS hybrid sedans, respectively. The culprit? Big price increases for fuel economy improvements that border on the unimpressive. Granted, the Escalade hybrid gets 31 percent better fuel economy than the standard version, but that still maps out to a combined fuel-efficiency rating of just 21 miles per gallon. That can be seen as a worthwhile increase, if it didn't cost over $8,000 extra. The 2014 Escalade Hybrid, for example, starts at $74,425 while the non-hybrid can be had for $66,295. Meanwhile, the Lexus full-size hybrid costs $6,000 more than the regular version but only gets 1-2 mpg better combined fuel economy. The result of all these high costs? Low sales. Through April, GM sold 82 of its hybrid SUVs and pickups, down from 541 a year earlier. And the LS hybrid sales were in single-digit territory for April. That isn't stopping Lexus from promoting its hybrids as the right solution (with the wrong facts), though. There are still automakers giving big hybrid vehicles a shot, though. Nissan's Infiniti division is selling a hybrid version of its QX60 and says an impressive 10 percent of QX60 buyers choose the hybrid, which costs just $3,000 more. Looks like money talks. Featured Gallery 2015 Cadillac Escalade: First Drive View 35 Photos News Source: USA TodayImage Credit: Copyright 2014 Brandon Turkus / AOL Green Infiniti Lexus Mercedes-Benz Hybrid lexus ls gmc yukon mercedes-benz s-class infiniti qx60 chevrolet tahoe