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Recharge Wrap-up: Nissan UK battery plant, Hyundai EV/FCEV station

Hyundai has opened a joint hydrogen fueling/EV charging station in South Korea. Called a "Fusion" station, it allows customers to take advantage of both types of alternative energy Hyundai uses for its vehicles. The station in Gwangju began as a hydrogen station, and EV charging capability was added recently. While users will have in common the use of green energy to power their vehicles, it will be interesting to see if spontaneous debates erupt between drivers over the merits of the two alternative powertrains. Hyundai will now use the hydrogen fueling part of the station to study fuel usage. Read more at Inside EVs. EV charging company EverCharge is teaming up with Schneider Electric to provide charging infrastructure to multi-tenant buildings. Because of the limited electricity for buildings like apartments, condominiums and offices – as well as the fact that multiple occupants often share power – installing charging at such locations has been challenging. EverCharge's SmartPower technology senses excess or limited power supply, and uses it to charge multiple vehicles accordingly. The groups will use this technology along with Schneider Electric's EVlink Home EV Charger to provide charging services at these otherwise difficult locations. Read more at Green Car Congress, or at the EverCharge blog. Nissan will build fourth-generation lithium-ion batteries for the Leaf at its plant in Sunderland, England. The announcement comes amidst rumors of the automaker outsourcing battery production. The decision means that Nissan's $37.5 million investment will preserve 300 jobs at the plant. The factory currently manufactures second-generation, 24-kW Leaf and e-NV200 batteries, and imports the third-generation, 30-kW Leaf battery from Nissan's plant in Smyrna, Tennessee. "Today's announcement reflects Nissan's intention to remain EV leaders for many years to come, with our European operations at the heart of our future innovations," says Nissan Europe Chairman Paul Willcox. Read more at Automotive News Europe, and in the press release below.

NHTSA opens investigation into Nissan's handling of airbag recall

In March of 2014, Nissan recalled eight models among its Nissan and Infiniti brands, totaling more than one million vehicles, over faulty occupant classification system software controlling the passenger airbag. The company discovered a variety of factors that would interfere with the system's ability to detect an adult passenger in the shotgun seat, resulting in an illuminated warning on on the dashboard and the passenger airbag not deploying in an accident. Yet 124 complaints submitted to the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration since the recall allege that the dealer-installed fix hasn't actually fixed the problem; some consumers say the problem persists after multiple trips to the dealer. The Detroit News reports that NHTSA is opening an investigation into the matter to determine whether a new recall is needed. The occupant sensor has been a bugbear for Nissan over the past couple of years; a much smaller recall for the issue in 2013 covered five of the eight vehicles that were recalled in 2014, and that earlier recall also continued to generate complaints after the issue had supposedly been fixed. At the same time, the company learned that in two instances there was another twist, where the dashboard warning wasn't illuminated but the passenger airbag still didn't go off in an accident. Nissan isn't alone, though, with airbag recalls on a steep upswing across the industry even before the Takata debacle.

FCA scion John Elkann tries to pull off a Marchionne-sized merger

MILAN, Italy — When John Elkann lost his ally last year with the sudden death of Sergio Marchionne, some questioned whether the softly-spoken scion of the Agnelli clan would be able to emerge from his shadow to ensure Fiat Chrysler's future. But New York-born Elkann, who became Fiat chairman in 2010, acted decisively to fill the vacuum left by the larger-than-life Marchionne and get closer to the big merger deal the legendary executive was unable to deliver. At just 28, Elkann was thrust into the role of Fiat vice chairman after the deaths of his grandfather and great-uncle "because there was really nobody else" to take the wheel. For Elkann, who got his first taste of the car industry as an intern at a factory producing headlights in Birmingham, England, the first 18 months with responsibility for the family-owned carmaker and its long heritage were "terrible." But from that low point, Elkann, 43, is now trying to merge Fiat Chrysler (FCA) with French rival Renault to form the world's third largest carmaker and tackle new challenges facing the industry. Elkann will become chairman of the merged FCA-Renault if the deal goes ahead, ensuring the Agnelli dynasty plays a central role in the next chapter of automotive history. At an event in Milan on Monday, the usually-shy Elkann looked happy and confident. His first big break came with an instrumental role in persuading Marchionne, who was running one of the businesses owned by the Agnelli family, to become chief executive in 2004 and give Fiat "a new start," Elkann said in a "Masters of Scale" podcast last year. Fiat was at the time almost on the brink of collapse. This involved a "very long night ... and many grappas" but proved to be a turning point in the fortunes of the Italian company founded by Elkann's great-great-grandfather Giovanni Agnelli, which built its first car in 1899. In 2005, Elkann backed Marchionne in negotiating the breakup of an alliance Fiat had entered into with General Motors in 2000, receiving $2 billion from GM in return for canceling a deal that could have required GM to buy the remainder of Fiat Auto. Marchionne then used GM's money to fund a turnaround at Fiat, which involved taking the Italian carmaker into a transformation alliance and then full-blown merger with U.S. automaker Chrysler as Elkann agreed to the Agnellis loosening their grip.