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France could reduce its Renault stake to solidify partnership with Nissan

French Finance Minister Bruno Le Maire said France is ready to cut its stake in Renault in order to consolidate Renault's partnership with Nissan, Agence France Press (AFP) reports. Le Maire said Paris, which has a 15% stake in Renault, might consider reducing its stake, if it led to a "more solid" alliance between the Japanese and French firms, the French news agency reported, citing an interview with the minister. "We can reduce the state's stake in Renault's capital. This is not a problem as long as, at the end of the process, we have a more solid auto sector and a more solid alliance between the two great car manufacturers Nissan and Renault," he told AFP. Le Maire had earlier said the French government was open to tie-ups involving Renault as long as French industrial interests were protected, and would consider any Renault deal with Fiat Chrysler that respected the French firm's alliance with its Japanese partner Nissan. Fiat on Thursday abandoned its $35 billion merger offer for Renault, blaming French politics for scuttling what would have been a landmark deal to create the world's third-biggest automaker behind Japan's Toyota and Germany's Volkswagen. The French government had welcomed the merger plan, but overplayed its hand by pushing for a series of guarantees and concessions that eventually exhausted the patience of FCA, sources told Reuters. Renault and Nissan were not immediately available to respond to a request seeking comment. (Reporting by Mekhla Raina in Bengaluru; editing by Richard Pullin and Elaine Hardcastle)

Nissan announces 5-year/100,000-mile bumper-to-bumper warranty for commercial vehicles

Nissan is a relative new-kid when it comes to the commercial van market in the US, with its commercial vehicles division only introducing the first NV vans in February 2011. But Nissan isn't letting its newcomer status keep it from challenging the established players in the segment. The company's latest shot over competitors' bows is announcing that, starting for the 2014 model year, its NV Cargo, NV Passenger and NV200 Compact Cargo vans carry a best-in-class, five-year/100,000-mile bumper-to-bumper warranty. Their powertrain coverage also gets a 40,000-mile increase to five years/100,000 miles.
The new warranty is a huge leap over adversaries in the segment and should lure in some buyers looking for a longer term of coverage. The Mercedes-Benz Sprinter, Ram ProMaster, Ford Transit and Transit Connect all carry a three-year/36,000-mile bumper-to-bumper warranty. The Fords offer five years and 60,000 miles of powertrain coverage, while all of the others increase that to 100,000 miles. Until this announcement, Nissan had the standard thee years of coverage, as well.
The Japanese automaker is clearly hungry to grab a bigger piece of the commercial van pie. Its heavy-duty NV vans have a relatively small 5.3 percent market share in their segment as of May 2014, according to the company's figures, but the NV200 is doing better with a 19.4 percent share. The division as a whole is on the upswing, though, with sales up 88 percent so far in 2014. With just a few years under its belt, Nissan Commercial Vehicles seems unafraid to challenge the status quo in the segment. Let's see how buyers respond. Scroll down to read the full announcement about the new warranty.

2014 Nissan Rogue

The compact crossover segment is crowded because it offers near-perfect transportation for small families and empty nesters alike. As more and more consumers discover the benefits of compact crossovers - riding tall in traffic, enjoying four-cylinder fuel economy and the confidence of all-weather traction - automakers are jumping into the game to meet the increasing demand. Today's choices, in no particular order, include the Honda CR-V, Jeep Cherokee, Mazda CX-5, Hyundai Tucson, Mini Countryman, Subaru Forester, Kia Sportage, Volkswagen Tiguan, Ford Escape, Mitsubishi Outlander, Toyota RAV4 and this Nissan Rogue. Nearly all start around $22,000 in base trim and work their way reasonably upwards with more appealing trim levels and options. If you spend much over $33,000 in this segment, you are a glutton for frosting.
The latest player from Nissan is its all-new second-generation Rogue, introduced late last year as a 2014 model. After a brief First Drive in October, we recently welcomed back the Rogue for a week-long review. The plan was to embed the compact crossover into a family routine during the holidays, where it would receive a hearty workout hauling everything from five adult passengers and their shopping bags to trays loaded with warm honey-glazed hams and pecan pies for a dinner party. The compact CUV handled all with poise, but everything wasn't as sweet as its edible cargo.