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Kayaba, Sumitomo to pay millions for price-fixing in US

Kayaba Industry Co, which does business in the US as suspension parts maker KYB, and Sumitomo Electric Industries are facing payments in the millions to settle price-fixing cases about the components that they make. As part of the Department of Justice's ongoing crackdown of price fixing in the auto industry, KYB agreed to pay $62 million and pleaded guilty to conspiracy to set the cost of shock absorbers from the mid '90s through 2012. The company allegedly worked with co-conspirators to keep the cost of the parts high, and those components then made it into vehicles from Honda, Kawasaki, Nissan, Subaru, Suzuki, and Toyota. "Any collusive agreement among competitors to restrict price competition undercuts our free enterprise system and violates the law," said Carter M. Stewart, US Attorney of the Southern District of Ohio, in the DoJ's announcement. Over the past few years, the DoJ has brought cases against 37 parts suppliers and 55 executives, leading to over $2.6 billion in fines. The investigations haven't always been so successful – some of the Japanese execs fled from the US to avoid prosecution. Critics allege that price fixing is simply how business is done. According to Automotive News, Sumitomo Electric Industries is also facing a $50 million settlement in a civil lawsuit that's related to price fixing of parts like wiring harnesses and heater control panels. The plaintiffs include owners and dealers that purchased vehicles with these parts. The company asserts that the violations are from before 2010, and it now has different process in place to avoid further violations. KYB Agrees to Plead Guilty and Pay $62 Million Criminal Fine for Fixing Price of Shock Absorbers Kayaba Industry Co. Ltd., dba KYB Corporation (KYB) has agreed to plead guilty and to pay a $62 million criminal fine for its role in a conspiracy to fix the price of shock absorbers installed in cars and motorcycles sold to U.S. consumers. According to charges filed today, KYB conspired from the mid-1990s until 2012 to fix the prices of shock absorbers sold to Fuji Heavy Industries Ltd. (manufacturer of Subaru vehicles), Honda Motor Co. Ltd., Kawasaki Heavy Industries Ltd., Nissan Motor Company Ltd., Suzuki Motor Corporation and Toyota Motor Company, including their subsidiaries in the United States.

Should you buy an EV?

Gas prices are hitting the skids and EVs are following suit; nearly every model in today's market has experienced a double-digit decline in sales – with the always notable exception of the Tesla Model S. Some EVs are in the last year of their generation while others have been half-heartedly designed and engineered to fulfill federal government quotas. The two non-Tesla front runners, the Chevy Volt and Nissan Leaf, are in the unfortunate position of offering customers "2015" vehicles that were designed with 2011 in mind. Yet there's plenty of love in the air. Nissan has built over 180,000 Leafs worldwide, and chances are you will be seeing a second electric vehicle accompanying the Leaf when the new generation is released in the coming months. The Chevy Volt now offers the highest customer satisfaction out of any car or truck sold in North America. Forget the luxury cars, the sports cars, the family trucksters, and even the rolling flagship that guides Tesla's jaw dropping valuation on Wall Street. You want happy with your EV? The brand that's rocking the segment right now is Chevy. It's been doing so for a while. The EV market is poised to become a lot more sophisticated over the next 18 months with the three leading manufacturers – Tesla, General Motors, and Nissan – launching five brand new models along with no fewer than 16 other manufacturers making many of their bread and butter cars available as plug-in hybrids. So, if you want to keep your money as far away from the Arab dictatorships and Russian mafia as Mercury is from Pluto, and enjoy your commute, we're more than ready to do our part! So let's begin with the most important question. What's Your Range? How much driving do you generally do in a day? If the answer to that question is 50 miles or fewer, an all-electric vehicle like the Nissan Leaf may be the best ingredient for your driving recipe. This is especially true if you have a second vehicle you can use for the occasional longer drive or are willing to rent for the weekend. But here's a little surprise for you. The upcoming Chevy Volt was designed to be driven in all-electric mode for over 50 miles. Fifty-three, to be exact. Plus, the Volt's battery has experienced a lot fewer deterioration issues than the Nissan Leaf's due in part to the Volt's liquid-cooled battery, which also uses a lot less of its capacity than the air-cooled Leaf's does.

Nissan sells 100,000 Leaf EVs worldwide

Nissan sold 22,610 Leaf electric vehicles in the US last year, but the bigger story (literally) is how the company is selling the EV around the world. After selling the 99,999th Leaf to a woman in Virginia, Nissan sold the 100,000th Leaf to a man named Brett Garner in the UK. For the record, it took Nissan just about three years and one month to reach that mark, since the first Leafs were sold in December 2010. On a global scale, Nissan says the Leaf has a 45 percent market share among all the electric vehicles available. The car is available in 35 countries, but the bulk - as of the end of December, 42,122 units - have been sold in the US. That 99,999th Leaf was sold to Amy Eichenberger, a project manager overseeing major capital investments for the University of Virginia in Charlottesville (pictured below). Garner owns a dental practice in Fareham. You can read their gushing quotes about their new EVs in the Nissan press releases below. If you add in all of the electric vehicles that Nissan and partner Renault have sold (90,000 as of March, the last time official numbers were available), then the 100,000 was topped a while ago. Of course, electric vehicles remain a small portion of Nissan's global sales. In fiscal 2012, Nissan sold 4.9 million vehicles around the world. Still, 100,000 Leafs out of 4.9 million cars is far better than zero. Nissan LEAF global sales reach 100,000 units Nissan LEAF is best-selling EV in history with 45% market share The 100,000th customer is a British dentist After revolutionizing passenger vehicle segment Nissan is electrifying LCVs with the e-NV200 YOKOHAMA, Japan (January 20, 2014) – The 100,000th all-electric Nissan LEAF is being bought by a customer in the United Kingdom. The Nissan LEAF, the world's first mass-produced zero emissions vehicle, remains the best-selling EV in history with a 45% market share. Since its launch in December 2010 Nissan has seen the pace of sales increase consistently and 2013 was a record year. The LEAF is now available to customers in 35 countries on four continents. In Norway, the Nissan LEAF topped sales charts, out-selling conventional gasoline powered vehicles in October 2013. The 100,000th Nissan LEAF customer is Dr. Brett Garner, the owner of a dental practice in Fareham in the UK. "I have chosen my Nissan LEAF because I am very interested in its running costs," Dr. Garner said. "The cost of ownership such as maintenance, insurance and charging also convinced my wife.