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Chip shortage will hit Nissan, Suzuki and Mitsubishi in June

TOKYO — A global chip shortage is forcing Nissan and Suzuki to temporarily halt production at some plants in June, sources with direct knowledge of the plans told Reuters on Friday. Nissan will idle its factory in Kyushu, southern Japan, for three days on June 24, 25 and 28, while making production adjustments during the month at its Tochigi and Oppama plants in Japan, three sources said. Nissan will also temporarily halt production of some of its models at its Mexico plant, they said, declining to be identified because the plan is not public. "A global shortage of semiconductors has affected parts procurement in the auto sector. Due to the shortage, Nissan is adjusting production and taking necessary actions to ensure recovery," a Nissan spokeswoman said. Suzuki will idle its three plants in Shizuoka prefecture from three to nine days, two sources said, also declining to be identified because the plan is not public. The plan "has not been confirmed," a Suzuki spokesman said, explaining that while the carmaker gave its provisional production plan to auto part makers, it is still making adjustments to minimize the impact of the chip shortage. Elsewhere, Mitsubishi will reduce production by 30,000 vehicles in total in June at five plants in Japan, Thailand and Indonesia, a spokeswoman said, adding that the impact has already been factored into its earnings outlook for the current fiscal year. Related video: This content is hosted by a third party. To view it, please update your privacy preferences. Manage Settings. Plants/Manufacturing Mitsubishi Nissan Suzuki

Nissan CEO plans to deliver 'raw details of the misconduct' to Renault

TOKYO/PARIS — Nissan Motor's CEO plans to meet one-on-one with the deputy CEO of automaking partner Renault in Amsterdam this week, sources told Reuters, amid tensions over the future of the alliance after Chairman Carlos Ghosn's arrest last month. The meeting would be the first face-to-face interaction between Nissan's Hiroto Saikawa and Renault's Thierry Bollore since Ghosn was arrested on Nov. 19 in Tokyo. It would take place alongside regular top-level, monthly talks between the partners and Mitsubishi Motor Corp that will be held over two days from Tuesday, according to one of the sources familiar with the matter. Saikawa, who took over from Ghosn as CEO last year, is planning to discuss at the meeting with Bollore possible changes to the partnership's management and operations with an eye to continuing the alliance, another source who is close to Nissan's management said. The talks in Amsterdam could provide Saikawa with an opportunity to try and convince Renault executives of the gravity of Ghosn's alleged misconduct discovered during an in-house investigation by the Japanese automaker. They are being held a day after Saikawa rebuffed a demand from Renault for an extraordinary shareholder meeting that would have offered the French car maker a chance to weigh in on Ghosn's replacement as chairman and on other Nissan board appointments. Mitsubishi Chairman Osamu Masuko said late on Monday he will attend the Amsterdam meetings via video conference. A Nissan spokesman said Saikawa would attend meetings with alliance partners in Amsterdam from Tuesday, but declined to comment on the possibility of the one-on-one meeting with Bollore. Ghosn was charged last week alongside alleged accomplice Greg Kelly and Nissan itself over the company's failure to declare $43 million in deferred income that Ghosn had arranged to be paid while chairman and CEO. Both men remain in custody. The scandal has shaken the Renault-Nissan-Mitsubishi alliance, with Saikawa calling for changes to weaken Renault's control as he moved to oust Ghosn in the week of his arrest. Renault directors were briefed last week on the Nissan investigation that led to Ghosn's arrest but reiterated their earlier decision to keep him in office as chairman and CEO. But the Renault board has yet to be given direct access to Nissan's findings, which are being closely held by Renault lawyers answering to Ghosn's long-standing chief of staff and head of legal affairs at Renault, Mouna Sepehri.

Nissan won't downsize the next Armada

The Nissan Armada is aptly named, because in relative automotive terms, it's not just the size of a ship - it's the size of a whole fleet. And that, according to reports, isn't about to change.
While many of the larger SUVs on the market are gradually being phased out or replaced by smaller crossovers, Nissan apparently plans on keeping the Armada right where it is. And that means a large, truck-based, eight-passenger colossus, because there are buyers out there who expect no less and Nissan isn't about to lose them to the likes of the Toyota Sequoia, Ford Expedition and Lincoln Navigator, or a General Motors lineup that includes the Chevy Suburban and Tahoe, GMC Yukon and Cadillac Escalade.
That doesn't mean that the next Armada - which Edmunds expects will arrive in 2015 or 2016 - will be immune to constricting environmental regulations, so Nissan will have to get creative. A vehicle the size of the Armada has all the aerodynamic efficiency of the side of a barn, but Nissan is reportedly aiming to streamline that in order to boost efficiency, for starters.