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Carlos Ghosn projects Renault-Nissan for #3 position by 2018

As the chief executive of both Renault and Nissan, Carlos Ghosn is one of the most powerful executives in the automotive industry. But at 60, he'll have to retire sooner than later: he's got three and a half years left on his contract at Renault, which mandates retirement by 65. But before his time is up, he intends to leave the Renault-Nissan Alliance among the top three automakers in the world. Currently the combined sales of Nissan, Renault and its various brands (including Dacia, Datsun and Infiniti) make the alliance the fourth largest carmaker globally, trailing behind Toyota, Volkswagen and General Motors, but ahead of Hyundai, Ford, Fiat Chrysler and Honda. But Ghosn sees the alliance's sales (and global market share) increasing in the next three years. Speaking with Automotive News Europe, Ghosn projected confidently that the alliance will hit the number three spot by 2018 – just three years from now. To get there, Ghosn knows that Nissan and Infiniti will need to increase their combined market share to 10 percent in the United States, growing around 2 to 3 percent each year between now and 2018. The challenge is that much more evident in North America where only half of the alliance participates. But it's not all about America. Ghosn also the Chinese market as equally vital to the alliance's success and that of its constituent automakers, projecting continued growth in China for the foreseeable future. He's also banked heavily on the Russian market, which may have dipped now, but in Ghosn's view is bound to recover. News Source: Automotive News - sub. req.Image Credit: Renault-Nissan Alliance Nissan Renault renault-nissan alliance

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.

Nissan pulled planned reveal of longer-range Leaf from L.A.

The arrest and detention of its former chairman, Carlos Ghosn, prompted Nissan at the last minute to pull the plug on plans to debut a longer-range version of its Leaf battery- electric car at the Los Angeles auto show, The Wall Street Journal reports. Nissan instead showed two mild-refresh models for 2019 — the Maxima sedan and the Murano crossover. It had reportedly hoped to make a bigger splash by unveiling the upgraded Leaf with actress and brand ambassador Margot Robbie at a media event at the Japanese American National Museum. It went ahead with an event at the venue, showing current models of the Leaf and holding the Nissan Futures event, the first time the series of panel discussion and keynote addresses had been staged in the U.S., with Robbie sitting down for a brief interview about owning an EV and sustainability issues. "The official announcement regarding details of the 2019 Nissan Leaf with additional performance capabilities is postponed to a later date," the company said in a statement. A spokesman told the Journal the postponement was "to ensure that this important product unveiling could receive the coverage it merits." Ghosn was arrested Nov. 19 in Japan on allegations of financial misconduct, including what Nissan has said was personal use of company money and deliberately under-reporting what he had been paid. Both Nissan and alliance partner Mitsubishi have ousted Ghosn as chairman, though his status remains unchanged for now at Renault, the third member of the partnership where he is both chairman and CEO. Renault has appointed a stand-in replacement while Ghosn remains in custody. Reuters reports that Tokyo authorities extended Ghosn's detention a second time Friday and have until Dec. 10 to file charges or release him. The auto world has been widely anticipating a longer-range version believed to be called the Leaf E-Plus, with a 60-kWh battery pack and an expected driving range of around 225 miles, up from the 40-kWh battery and 151-mile driving range of the current model. A recent report suggests that its starting price will be about $5,500 more than the 40-kWh version, meaning around $36,385 before federal EV tax credits. A spokesman tells Autoblog the postponement doesn't affect the new Leaf's on-sale date but added that date has yet to be announced.