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Nissan names Makoto Uchida as next CEO

TOKYO — Nissan named Makoto Uchida, the head of its Chinese business, as its next CEO, picking an executive known for close ties to top shareholder Renault and for a frank, straight-talking manner that has marked him as an outsider. By selecting Senior Vice President Uchida, Nissan's board has gone with someone slightly at odds with its traditional corporate culture. He joined the carmaker mid-career in 2003, a rarity in a country where top executives usually spend their entire working lives at the same company. Known for his unflagging work ethic and relentless focus on cost control, Uchida was described by one long-time associate who spoke on condition of anonymity as a "foreigner with a Japanese face" — direct and to the point in conversations. He will be joined by newly appointed Chief Operating Officer (COO) Ashwani Gupta, currently COO of junior partner Mitsubishi Motors, in trying to find new ways to revive a business that has been struggling for months with plunging profits, management scandal and tensions with Renault. Japan's second-largest automaker has been shaken in particular by the arrest of former Chairman Carlos Ghosn last year on allegations of financial misconduct, which he denies, and the more recent departure of CEO Hiroto Saikawa after he admitted to being improperly overpaid. Whether the 58-year-old former theology student can deliver a miracle turnaround — particularly at Nissan's business in the United States — and repair ties with Renault will now be a focus for investors. "The biggest business challenge for Nissan is speeding up," the head of Nissan's nominations committee, Masakazu Toyoda, told a news conference. "Speedy decision making is a challenge that Uchida raised, and to this end he said that he wants to empower people as much as possible, so we decided to ask Uchida to take on the CEO role." One source close to Renault described the selection as "a victory for the alliance", saying that both Uchida and Gupta knew the business and were ready to help Nissan recover. 'ISN'T REALLY JAPANESE' Before his ouster, Ghosn had been working on a plan for a full merger of Renault and Nissan, but had met resistance in Japan, which is concerned about French influence in the alliance. The French government is a major Renault shareholder. Relations were further strained this year when Renault held abortive merger talks with Fiat Chrysler Automobiles.

Mitsubishi and Renault-Nissan expand partnership, US will get new sedan

Mitsubishi and Renault-Nissan have just inked an alliance that might, hopefully, reverse the ailing fortunes of the Mitsubishi brand in the US market. The big chunk of news is that Mitsubishi will produce two Renualt-based models for sale in the US market, and that they'll be built at the Renault-Samsung factory in Busan, South Korea.
The plans call for a D-segment sedan to be followed by a C-segment offering. Based on the cars built at the Busan factory, that means Mitsubishi will be getting the SM5 and the SM3, a pair of handsome sedans that are based on Renault-Nissan's D and C platforms, respectively. These same platforms underpin a number of US market Nissans (not to mention a number of cars from Renault), namely the Pathfinder, Maxima, Quest and Murano for the D platform and the last-generation Rogue and Sentra for the C platform.
Besides the sedan production, Nissan and Mitsubishi will be expanding their joint-venture company, NMKV, which produces Kei cars for the Japanese market. A new, all-electric offering will be born from the partnership, likely based on a Kei car platform. The partnership between the three brands will also lead to increased sharing of technology, particularly relating to electric cars.

Mitsubishi reveals mid-term plans including redesigned pickup, SUV and new PHEVs

Struggling automaker Mitsubishi seems adamant that it will soldier on across the globe. Just last week, we told you how the brand would begin selling a pair of rebadged, Korean-built, Renault-Samsung sedans in the US market, and now comes an official statement from Mitsubishi about a mid-term business plan called "New Stage 2016."
As part of the plan, a number of products not sold in the US, like the Triton pickup, Pajero Sport SUV and Delica D:5 will be new or significantly updated, while we'll be seeing a second-generation Outlander Sport within the next few years. Some of these new or updated models may be previewed at the Tokyo Motor Show later this month. There will also be an increased focus on the brand's plug-in hybrid technology.
In fact, that technology will play a big role in Mitsubishi's revitalization, as it rolls out its own competitor to Honda's Earth Dreams and Mazda's Skyactiv technology, called @earth Technology (yes, seriously). It's unclear if @earth Technology will develop into an overarching philosophy like Mazda has done with Skyactiv, but with Mitsubishi pushing so hard with hybrids and EVs - part of its deal for those Renault-Samsung sedans was that it would develop EV tech with Nissan-Renault - if we did see an @earth Technology badge on a car, we'd wager that it'd be powered, to some degree, by electricity.