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Renault ousts CEO days after Nissan gets a new one

Newly-appointed interim CEO Clotilde Delbos and Chairman of Renault SA Jean-Dominique Senard. / Reuters   PARIS — Renault ousted chief executive Thierry Bollore on Friday, as the French carmaker and its Japanese partner Nissan seek to rekindle their alliance following the scandal-hit tenure of former alliance supremo Carlos Ghosn. Tensions between Renault and Nissan, which picked a new CEO on Tuesday, have been high since Ghosn's arrest in Tokyo last year on allegations of financial misconduct, which he denies. Bollore, who was close to Ghosn and had strained relations with Nissan's previous boss, will be replaced on an interim basis by Renault finance director Clotilde Delbos. With new faces at the helm, Renault chairman Jean-Dominique Senard is hoping to draw a line under almost a year of turmoil and revive cooperation between two carmakers once seen as destined to fully merge. That is vital at a time when auto markets are slowing and carmakers are having to invest in costly new technologies as well as meet challenging European emissions regulations. "We're at a new stage now for this alliance. Sometimes you need new management ... to breathe new life into things," Senard, who was brought in earlier this year from tyre maker Michelin, told a news conference in Paris. He said three members of Renault's 18-strong board abstained in the vote to remove Bollore, who hit out at his looming dismissal in a newspaper interview the night before, calling it a coup. Following Ghosn's arrest, a feeling of stagnation around joint Renault-Nissan projects, including on issues such as advancing on cost savings, had begun to set in, people at Renault have said. These would now be the first priority, according to a source close to the carmaker. "There are a lot of concrete matters that have already been identified, including on the industrial front: working on batteries, electric vehicles, connectivity, purchasing and self-driving cars," the source said. Shares in Renault closed up 5.1%. 'Coup de force' Tensions between Renault and Nissan were further inflamed this year, including during various spats over governance reforms, and after a failed deal to pair Renault up with Fiat Chrysler, which withdrew a merger offer. Senard reiterated on Friday that a tie-up with Fiat, which was abandoned in June, was not at present on the agenda.

Infiniti readying small crossover for China, is it Juke based?

The small crossover is the superstar segment of the global automotive industry at the moment. With the love that Nissan has for the form with vehicles like the Juke and the Rogue, it should come as no surprise that Infiniti is going to hop into the market as well. However, its luxury CUV is likely going to remain exclusive to China for the time being.
The first hint of the Chinese Infiniti crossover leaked as dark silhouette looking a lot like the Juke, during a brand press conference said to be held in Beijing. It suggested that the model would use the Nissan platform but incorporate unique styling.
Leftlane News speculated that it could be among the company's debuts at the upcoming Beijing Motor Show, but that appears not to be the case. Infiniti spokesperson Kyle Bazemore has confirmed to Autoblog that a "small premium crossover" is under development for China. However, "Details of the vehicle will be announced at a later date. It will not debut at Beijing Motor Show," he said. Also, don't get too excited about the prospects of driving an Infiniti small CUV, because Bazemore says the company has no plans to offer this model elsewhere.

Hurricane Sandy cost automakers 15,000 vehicles, may have ruined up to 200k

Hurricane Sandy was the largest Atlantic storm in US history, and its total economic impact is just now coming into view. According to Automotive News, Toyota, Chrysler, Nissan and Honda are set to scrap around 15,000 new vehicles ruined by the storm. Nissan alone accounts for about 40 percent of those, with 6,000 Nissan and Infiniti models deeded "un-saleable" due to damage. The company saw 56 dealerships shuttered due to the storm, but 51 of those have since reopened.
Toyota, meanwhile, had some 4,000 vehicles at its Newark port facility, and of those, 3,000 may be scrapped. An additional 825 were dealer inventory when they were ruined. Honda and Acura dealers are reportedly sending 3,440 vehicles to the salvage yard. By comparison, Chrysler weathered the storm fairly well with 825 units destroyed, while Hyundai suffered only 400 lost units and Kia scrapped around 200.
As you may recall, Fisker also suffered some losses, and Automotive News reports the manufacturer saw 320 Karma models damaged beyond repair. Ford and General Motors have yet to come up with estimates, and no automaker has commented on the full cost of replacing the vehicles.