1990 Nissan 300zx 2+2 3.0l on 2040-cars

Auto blog

Nissan's 'No Charge to Charge' is what incentives look like in the EV age [UPDATE]

Nissan knows that offering free charging can increase Leaf sales, so it only makes sense for them to expand the "No Charge to Charge" program. And that's exactly what happened yesterday. As previewed during the New York Auto Show, No Charge To Charge gives new Leaf buyers free charging at participating public charging stations – which is pretty much any public station – for two years. That's the kind of thing that simplifies the EV buying process, which can move units, Brendan Jones, director of Nissan EV sales and infrastructure, told AutoblogGreen. "There is an expectation that we'll get a sales increase out of this," Jones said. "All the dealer has to say is that we have one card that accesses all chargers and we have a promotion where you can get free charging. The more complexity we reduce, the more sales we get." "The more complexity we reduce, the more sales we get." – Nissan's Brendan Jones That all-access angle is important for the broader EV market, Jones said, calling the program, "The first valid step towards interoperability." Jones said there will be more surprise announcements soon. "The infrastructure companies really came together to support Nissan on this," he said, but added that, "What's good for the industry and EVs in general is good for Nissan." "Leaf customers are not shy about their ability to provide constructive criticism," Jones said, " and interoperability has always been a big concern." Now that many of the early adopters drive an EV, the next target audience are the people who are telling EV companies to "Make this easy for me and I will adopt," Jones said. "[Interoperability] is a necessity for the industry now. We know the experience is great once they drive it. This just takes away a barrier, that confusion at the dealership." And, in some areas in the US, No Charge To Charge is now live. There are 2,600 public stations (200 of them fast chargers) in the initial 10 markets, Nissan says. Those include: San Francisco, Sacramento, San Diego, Seattle, Portland (OR), Nashville, Phoenix, Dallas-Fort Worth, Houston and Washington, DC. Nissan hasn't announced where the next 15 markets will be, but we know that they will likely be wherever the Leaf is selling well and there are a fair number of DC fast chargers. As we reported in April, each charging session in the No Charge To Charge program is limited to 30 minutes if you're plugged into a CHAdeMO fast charge station and to an hour at a Level 2 station.

Facts point to legal violations by Carlos Ghosn, says Nissan external review

YOKOHAMA, Japan — An external committee reviewing governance at Nissan Motor Co said on Wednesday there were enough facts to suspect violations of laws and the private use of company funds by ousted chairman Carlos Ghosn. Following a three-month audit of Nissan's governance after a scandal that shook the global auto industry, the committee put the blame squarely on what it called Ghosn's concentration of power. It also acknowledged Nissan CEO Hiroto Saikawa's role in Ghosn's salary arrangement at the heart of the scandal. Twenty years to the day since French automaker Renault SA agreed to rescue Nissan, the committee described a corporate culture at Nissan "in which no one can make any objections to Mr. Ghosn," who was "in a way deified within Nissan as a savior who had redeemed Nissan from collapse." A representative for Ghosn replied in a statement that the allegations made against the former Nissan chairman "will be revealed for what they are: part of an unsubstantiated smear campaign against Carlos Ghosn to prevent the integration of the Alliance and conceal Nissan's deteriorating performance." The group issued 38 recommendations to bolster Nissan's governance, including that top executive positions at the Japanese car maker should not be held by people serving in executive positions at Renault or junior partner Mitsubishi Motors. It also proposed that the majority of directors, including the chairman of the board, be independent, outside directors and that the role of company chairman be abolished. Responding to the committee's comments, Saikawa told reporters on Thursday that Nissan would seriously consider the committee's recommendations, which he characterized as "tough." Saikawa, who was speaking outside his home, did not specifically address his responsibility in the scandal but has previously said that top management, including himself, were responsible for weak governance which led to the misconduct. The recommendations from the external, seven-member committee came weeks after Nissan and Renault said they would retool their alliance, one of the world's biggest automaking groupings, to break up the all-powerful chairmanship previously held by Ghosn. "There are facts sufficient to suspect violations of laws and regulations, violation of internal rules and private use of company funds and expenses ... by Mr. Ghosn," the committee said in its report.

Renault selling part of Nissan stake to partner for $824 million

Renault SA is selling around 5% of its stake in partner Nissan Motor Co., offloading the stock as part of a share buyback by the Japanese carmaker.  The move follows last month’s finalization of a plan for Renault to reduce its interest in Nissan. The stake sale is valued at around ˆ765 million ($824 million), but will result in a capital loss of ˆ1.5 billion, the French company said Tuesday.  Eventually, the two carmakers aim to equalize their cross-shareholdings at 15%, loosening the ties that kept them together in a carmaking alliance for two decades. The partnership between Nissan and Renault was jolted in 2018 by the arrest of Carlos Ghosn, chairman of both companies. Since then, they have drifted apart and are now charting separate paths. Given that NissanÂ’s shares are trading below the Tokyo Stock ExchangeÂ’s guideline of maintaining a price-to-book ratio above 1, the buyback will “help improve the situation,” said Bloomberg Intelligence analyst Tatsuo Yoshida. The cash will bolster Chief Executive Officer Luca de MeoÂ’s efforts to get Ampere, RenaultÂ’s electric-vehicle and software arm, going as he seeks to split off the unit and list it as a separate public entity as soon as April or May. Nissan has also agreed to invest in Ampere. Renault transferred its 28.4% stake in Nissan into a trust in early November to pave the way for a reduction of its holding. Even so, there will still be lock-up and standstill obligations. De Meo said last month that Renault would begin offloading the stake “very soon” in early 2024, so TuesdayÂ’s announcement was slightly earlier than anticipated. For Nissan, the buyback is well within the value of cash and equivalents, which stood at JPY1.6 trillion ($11 billion) yen at the end of September. Nissan said it will cancel all acquired shares.  “ItÂ’s good news for the stock that Nissan will retire the equivalent of 5% of its outstanding shares,” Yoshida said.  The Japanese carmaker is paying JPY568.5 for each share, the price at the close of trading in Tokyo on Tuesday. While NissanÂ’s stock has climbed 36% this year, itÂ’s at roughly half of its value from early 2017. Earnings/Financials Nissan Renault