2003 Mitsubishi Lancer Evolution Sedan 4-door 2.0l on 2040-cars

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Carlos Ghosn sues Nissan-Mitsubishi in the Netherlands

AMSTERDAM — Carlos Ghosn has launched a court case in the Netherlands against Japanese carmakers Nissan Motor and Mitsubishi Motors, who ousted him as chairman of their alliance last year on charges of embezzlement, Dutch newspaper NRC reported on Saturday. Ghosn is seeking 15 million euros ($16.8 million) in damages from the carmakers, as grave mistakes were made when he was sacked, NRC reported, citing his lawyer. "In the Netherlands, if you want to fire an executive you have to first tell him what he's being accused of, and you have to provide him with the evidence for the accusations. Neither of those things has happened," lawyer Laurens de Graaf told NRC. Ghosn fell from grace late last year when he was arrested in Japan and sacked by Nissan on charges of financial misconduct, which he denies. He has also been fired as the CEO and chairman of French carmaker Renault. Ghosn was freed in April from jail in Japan on a $4.5 million bail. Among other charges of fraud and misconduct, Nissan and Mitsubishi have said Ghosn improperly received $9 million in compensation from their joint venture. Suspect expenses Ghosn made when he chaired Renault and Nissan amounted to about 11 million euros, Renault's board said in June. Ghosn holds French, Lebanese and Brazilian citizenship, but opted for the fiscally more friendly Netherlands as his tax domicile in 2012. The holding company for the Nissan-Mitsubishi alliance is also incorporated in the Netherlands. The district court in Amsterdam is reviewing the case but has not set a trial date yet, NRC said. Government/Legal Hirings/Firings/Layoffs Mitsubishi Nissan Carlos Ghosn

Mitsubishi expects to sell only 4,000 Outlander PHEVs in first year in US

First, it was late 2013 or early 2014. Then it was the fall of 2014. And then it was "roughly" April 2016. Now we can strike "roughly" from the record: the Outlander Plug-In Hybrid will finally arrive in the US in April 2016. Alex Fedorak, public relations manager, Mitsubishi Motors North America, told AutoblogGreen that the company is now "confident in that date." The various delays that held up the SUV this far – including battery shortages, deciding to make the PHEV in the US the refreshed version and better-than-expected sales in Europe and Japan – have worked their way through the system, he said. "The issue was battery capacity, and the vehicle sold far better in Europe than anyone anticipated. It just takes time to build the battery. You got to buy raw materials and rethink the whole process. We're confident that it's going to be next spring." As for where the Outlander will go on sale in the US Fedorak said he did not know the initial markets for, but said it was likely the plug-in SUV would mimic the roll-out of the i-MiEV, which is now available in most states. Even with the Outlander PHEV's success overseas, the company does not expect it to be a big seller here. "It's not going to be big percentage of Outlander sales [in the US]," Fedorak said. "Our expectations are in the single-digit percentage of the total Outlander sales. It's just going to be a technology showcase for us, and we'll see what happens. If it takes off for us like it did in Europe, it'll be good news for the brand." Last year, Mistubishi sold 31,054 Outlander Sports and 13,068 Outlanders in the US. That means Mitsubishi expects to sell a maximum of 3,970 Outlander PHEVs (nine percent of 44,122 total Outlander sales) in the plug-in's first year on sale in the US. Fedorak said he doesn't think there are any specific regulatory issues that need to be solved to bring the Outlander PHEV here. Things like EPA certification and crash testing still need to be done, he said, but that's just part of the normal process now. Fedorak said he thinks there is no difference in the plug-in powertrain from the current version sold in Europe and Japan and the version that will come to the US. But the rest of the 2016 Outlander will be "much more than a facelift," he said (something we've heard before). "It's a total rethink of the chassis and the tuning of the vehicle. The NVH of the vehicle, too."Related Video:

FCA-Renault merger faces tall odds delivering on cost-cutting promises

FRANKFURT/DETROIT — Fiat Chrysler Automobiles and Renault promise huge savings from a mega-merger, but such combinations face tall odds because of the industry's long product cycles and problems translating deal blueprints into real world success, industry veterans told Reuters. BMW's 1994 purchase of Rover, and Daimler's 1998 merger with Chrysler both made sense on paper. The companies promised to hike profits by combining vehicle platforms and engine families. Both combinations proved unworkable in reality, and were unwound. Renault and Nissan, which have been in an alliance since 1999 designed to share vehicle components, have only managed to use common vehicle platforms in 35% of Nissan's products despite an original target of 70%, according to Morgan Stanley. FCA and Renault have raised the stakes for themselves by ruling out plant closures. That increases the pressure to achieve more than $5 billion in promised annual savings from pooling procurement and research investments. The two companies have yet to fill in many of the blanks in the merger plan put forward by Fiat Chrysler. Renault's board is expected to act soon to accept the proposal, but that would lead only to a memorandum of understanding to pursue detailed operational and financial plans. A final deal and the legal combination of the two companies could take months to complete if all goes well. Pressure to cut automotive pollution is driving the latest round of consolidation. Automakers are looking at multibillion-dollar bills to develop electric and hybrid cars and cleaner internal combustion engines. Fiat Chrysler and Renault are betting they can design common electric vehicle systems, then sell more of them through their respective brands and dealer networks, cutting the cost per car. Developing all-new electric vehicles can bring more opportunities to share costs from the outset, industry experts said. "With the emergence of connected, autonomous, electric and shared vehicles, carmakers face immediate investments, so new opportunities for sharing costs have emerged," said Elmar Kades, managing director at Alix Partners. However, most electric vehicles lose money. This is a challenge for city car brands in Europe in particular. Both Renault and Fiat rely heavily on this segment for sales.