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Carlos Ghosn: What misconduct is he accused of?

TOKYO — Japan was shocked by news that Nissan Motor Co. Chairman Carlos Ghosn, who was widely respected for rescuing the carmaker from near bankruptcy, was arrested on Monday for alleged financial misconduct. Nissan said that Ghosn, who is also chairman and CEO of Renault and chairman of Mitsubishi Motors, would be fired from his post as Nissan chairman on Thursday. What is Carlos Ghosn accused of? Nissan CEO Hiroto Saikawa told a packed press conference on Monday night that the company had found that Ghosn had been using corporate money for personal purposes and under-reporting his income for years in official company filings to the Tokyo Stock Exchange. Another board member, Greg Kelly, was also deeply involved in the misconduct, Nissan said. Saikawa said he couldn't elaborate as the cases are being investigated by prosecutors, who have declined to comment. Prosecutors said that Ghosn and Kelly conspired to understate Ghosn's compensation over five years starting in fiscal 2010 as being about half of the actual 9.998 billion yen ($88.9 million). Public broadcaster NHK said Nissan paid billions of yen to buy and renovate homes for Ghosn in Rio, Beirut, Paris and Amsterdam, citing unnamed sources. The properties had no business purpose and were not listed as benefits in TSE filings, NHK said. Ghosn, 64, has not been formally charged. The Asahi newspaper reported that he and Kelly had submitted to prosecutors' questions after getting off a plane on Monday afternoon at Tokyo's Haneda Airport. Saikawa confirmed they had been arrested. Ghosn and Kelly have not been seen since, and their exact whereabouts are not known. Suspects are typically taken to the Tokyo Detention Center, which is linked to the Tokyo District Public Prosecutors Office. How did this come to light? Nissan's Saikawa said Ghosn's alleged improprieties came to light through a whistleblower, after which the company began an internal investigation and informed prosecutors. Japanese media reports say the informant is a member of Nissan's legal department. The Asahi reported, without citing sources, that the informant gave the prosecutors information in a plea bargain, implying the person may have provided evidence in exchange for a lighter sentence. How much control did Carlos Ghosn have? After becoming CEO of struggling Nissan in 2001, Ghosn was hailed as the automaker's savior by implementing an aggressive cost-cutting plan.

The Tesla Model S was the best-selling EV of 2015

According to numbers crunched over at Hybrid Cars, the Tesla Model S was the best selling pure electric vehicle last year with 50,366 deliveries. These numbers might not tell the whole story, since Tesla reports deliveries made in 2015 that might have been sold in a different calendar year, while other makers are tallying sales. However, it's inarguable that the Model S ended up in more worldwide driveways than the second-place Nissan Leaf, which did about 43,000 sales. In the US alone, Leaf sales were down 42.8 percent year-on-year, from 30,200 in 2014 to 17,269 last year, and that decline also increased throughout the year. That marks a great finish to a great start to 2015, when Tesla took the lead in EV sales in the US for the first quarter. On top of that, as of last year the Model S becomes the second-best selling EV ever, with 107,148 deliveries since the middle of 2012. It trails the Nissan Leaf, with well over 200,000 worldwide sales. The Chevrolet Volt/Opel Ampera combo takes a close third, with about 106,000 sales. The Nissan and Chevy rivals both launched at the end of 2010, a 16-month head start on the Tesla. Down the charts, the Mitsubishi Outlander PHEV which continues to be forbidden fruit for our market notched 39,000 sales. The BYD Qin PHEV sold 31,898 examples in China, and BYD would take the overall victory from Tesla with 58,728 deliveries if you counted all of its EV and PHEV production, such as its electric buses. The BMW i3 nabbed fourth place with 24,057 global sales. In 2011 the Munich automaker said it wanted to sell 30,000 i3s annually by 2014, but by the time the car launched the company considered 15,000 annual sales 'great for now,' so the 2015 number seems a fine place to wind up. Related Video: News Source: Hybrid Cars Green BMW Chevrolet Mitsubishi Nissan Tesla

Recharge Wrap-Up: Georgia lawyers love the Nissan Leaf, 2B vehicles by 2035

Loads of lawyers at a firm in Georgia are taking advantage of the state's EV tax credit. Georgia offers a tax credit on leases and purchases of electric vehicles for 20 percent of the car's value, up to $5,000. This has created a trend among lawyers at Arnall Golden Gregory, who one after another have been switching from gas-powered cars to the all-electric Nissan Leaf. They appreciate the environmental benefits, as well as toll exemption and access to HOV lanes, but the tax credit seems to be the biggest motivation to switch. Says lawyer Scott Wandstrat, "Everybody is signing up, now that all the cool kids are doing it." Read more at Daily Report. (Thanks to Kevin D. for the tip!) There's an easy way to see what kind of battery pack a Tesla Model S is using. Underneath the car on the passenger side, just behind the front wheel is a sticker on the outside of the battery pack. At the top is the battery size, 60 kWh or 85 kWh. Below that is a part number, followed by a letter. According to this Tesla Motors Club wiki, those numbers denote new or refurbished battery packs. The A, B or D following that number refers to the generation of battery, which also corresponds to charging capabilities. Knowing how to decode a Tesla pack could be useful if you ever need to replace your battery. Get more details at Teslarati. There will be 2 billion vehicles in use by 2035, according to a forecast by Navigant Research. The group who brought you the fuel consumption figures we shared with you previously estimates that there are currently almost 1.2 billion light-duty vehicles in use today. Navigant expects stop-start technology to grow, with 45 percent of vehicles on the road being equipped with it by 2035. Read more at Green Car Reports. The Hybrid Shop, which specializes in reconditioning batteries, is now an AskPatty Certified Female Friendly Auto Repair Facility. AskPatty, an automotive website which offers advice for women, credits The Hybrid Shop for providing a safe and comfortable environment for women, as well as offering valuable automotive services. The Hybrid Shop has launched its own corresponding microsite, which offers the resources most requested by women. Learn more in the press release below.