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Carlos Ghosn to step down as Nissan CEO on April 1

Carlos Ghosn announced he will be stepping down as CEO of the Nissan on April 1, to be replaced by current Nissan co-CEO Hiroto Saikawa. The move comes after close to two decades of leadership and the rebuilding of a company that was close to disaster. Ghosn isn't finished with the company he helped rebuild, as he will remain on as chairman of the board and continue on as leader of the Renault-Nissan Alliance following the change of guard. In addition to running Renault-Nissan, Ghosn has taken over as chairman of Mitsubishi Motors after acquiring a 34-percent stake in 2016, a move he spearheaded. Ghosn stated, "I am confident that the management team I have developed at Nissan over the past 18 years has the talent and experience to meet the company's operational and strategic goals. Having recently taken on new responsibilities at Mitsubishi Motors, and taking into consideration the upcoming Nissan general shareholders meeting, I have decided that the time is right for Hiroto Saikawa to succeed me as Nissan's CEO." A release from Renault-Nissan said the move allows Ghosn to focus more attention on bringing together the three companies. Saikawa, his replacement, has been with Nissan since 1977 and has overseen operations in the company's markets worldwide. Related Video: Image Credit: Reuters Hirings/Firings/Layoffs Mitsubishi Nissan Renault ceo nissan renault

Renault invests in French electric car plant upgrade

PARIS — Renault will invest more than 1 billion euros ($1.2 billion) to increase electric vehicle production capacity in France and add new models, the carmaker said on Thursday. The Zoe production line in Flins, west of Paris, will double its maximum output with the battery-powered subcompact's next upgrade, the company said in a statement, and its northern Douai factory will tool up to build electric cars on a new architecture shared with Japanese affiliate Nissan. "The acceleration of our investments in France for electric vehicles will increase the competitiveness and attractiveness of our French industrial sites," said Renault Chairman and Chief Executive Carlos Ghosn, who also chairs Nissan and Mitsubishi Motors and heads the carmakers' three-way alliance. The Cleon plant will triple its electric motor production capacity, while Maubeuge in eastern France receives tooling investment for the next Kangoo van including its electric version, Renault said. Reporting by Laurence Frost. Related Video: Image Credit: REUTERS/Jacky Naegele Green Plants/Manufacturing Nissan Renault Electric

Datsun's lackluster initial sales fall below Tata Nano

When Tata introduced the Nano back in 2008, everyone was amazed at how cheap it was. They called it a game changer, but no game was changed. In fact, it took Tata five years to sell the 250,000 units it had the capacity to build in a single year. As it turns out, even buyers in what economists call "developing markets" like India aren't necessarily interested in buying an ultra-cheap automobile. And now it appears that Nissan may be falling into the same trap.
A little over a year ago, Nissan revived its old moniker Datsun to serve as a budget brand - similar to what ally Renault did with Dacia. Its lineup (consisting of models like the Go hatchback, Go+ minivan, On-Do sedan and Mi-Do hatch) is largely based on old architecture, packaged with little more than basic equipment and sold at rock-bottom prices. But Bloomberg reports that, even in the brand's core markets like India and Indonesia, the new Datsuns haven't been selling.
According to local industry figures, Datsun has sold fewer than 10,000 units of its $5,100 Go hatchbacks in India since its introduction back in March. Maruti Suzuki, by comparison, sells twice that many of its similarly priced Alto hatchbacks every month. In fact, after peaking in April, Datsun only sold 607 units in India this past July, dipping 77 percent to drop below even the number of Nanos which Tata sold that month.