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You'll soon be able to buy an EV in China for just $8,000 after incentives

Renault is eventually looking to sell an electric vehicle in China that will cost as little as $8,000 after government incentives kick in. According to Reuters, Renault-Nissan chief Carlos Ghosn offered the prediction at the New York Times Energy for Tomorrow conference in Paris this week. Granted, China government incentives are approaching $20,000 per vehicle, as China looks to address its cities' notorious pollution problem, so there's some wiggle room with that price. And of course, the devil is in the details, and Ghosn didn't provide any. Still, such a low-priced EV would likely challenge the dominance of China-based EV makers BYD and Kandi. And the effort would likely be lucrative, given that it has been predicted that China will become the world's largest EV market by the end of the decade. In fact, the publication EV Sales said earlier this year that as many as 300,000 EVs will be sold in China in 2016 (by comparison, Americans bought about 100,000 EVs and plug-in hybrids combined through the first 10 months of the year). BYD is expected to sell 75,000 Tang SUV units this year. With such growth expectations in mind, automakers are focusing on China for potential EV development. Earlier this year, Volkswagen Group said it signed a memorandum of understanding with China's Jianghuai Automobile (JAC) for plug-in vehicle production. Mercedes-Benz parent Daimler also stated its goal to broaden plug-in vehicle sales in China. Renault appears to be trying to make an early mark in China. Dongfeng Renault Automobile Co., the Chinese joint venture between Renault and Donfeng, is looking to start testing a self-driving electric vehicle this month. Dongfeng Renault will use a 1.5-mile stretch of road in Beijing's Caidian district for testing purposes. Related Video:

Nissan axing Pathfinder Hybrid from 2016 lineup

The Nissan lineup gets a little smaller for the 2016 model year, as the Pathfinder Hybrid is dropped from the range. With its debut in late 2013, the electrically assisted SUV is one of the company's more recent introductions. However, it never really caught on with the public. "The Pathfinder Hybrid is not available in the US for the 2016 model year. Our emphasis is on the 3.5-liter V6 Pathfinder that achieves a best-in-class 20-city and 27-highway fuel economy," Nissan North America product communications director Dan Bedore confirmed to Autoblog. "Nissan has no announcement on future hybrid gasoline-electric powertrain applications at this time." Nissan actually ended production of the Pathfinder Hybrid in January, and "the hybrid was never a big part of Pathfinder sales," Bedore said to Automotive News. For the price premium, the electrically assisted version that combined a supercharged 2.5-liter four-cylinder and a 20-horsepower electric motor was only rated three or four miles per gallon better in EPA combined ratings than with the V6. However, while the company doesn't outline individual sales of the two, powertrain variants, the SUV is performing well so far this year. Through June 2015, sales are up 4.9 percent with 41,938 units sold. The future for the Infiniti QX60 Hybrid, which is the Pathfinder's more luxurious sibling, doesn't look very bright either. "For the United States, while the QX60 Hybrid continues to be available at some retailers across the country, our production is currently focused on the QX60 3.5 model," Infiniti spokesperson Kyle Bazemore told Autoblog. However, the vehicle is still in production at the Smyrna, TN, factory for export to places like China and Mexico. According to Bazemore if demand happens to increase in the US, "we have the manufacturing ability to make them available." Overall, QX60 sales are also up 14 percent this year in the US.

2013 Nissan Frontier gets substantial price drop, better fuel economy

With the competition dwindling (or dying) among compact trucks, Nissan is looking to make some minor changes to the 2013 Frontier to snag a few extra sales for its aging pickup. Pricing and fuel economy are probably two of the most important vehicle stats among new-car buyers, and the 2013 Nissan Frontier has made vast improvements in both areas over the 2012 model.
First things first: The MSRP of both the King Cab and Crew Cab models have dropped by $1,270 with new starting prices of $17,990 and $22,030 (*not including the $845 destination charge), respectively. The biggest price drop is seen on the SV Crew Cab 4x2, which dropped $1,450 to its new price of $23,990. The important thing here is that the 2013 Frontier King Cab is now priced just a few hundred dollars more than a regular cab version of the Toyota Tacoma. Nissan is also offering a new SV Value Truck Package that includes all the equipment of the previous SV Premium Utility Package (spray-on bedliner, Utili-Track in-bed cargo system with four adjustable cleats and Bluetooth) and adds in a rearview monitor and dual-zone air conditioning.
Another key change made for 2013 was to the Frontier's fuel economy. Except for the base-model truck (King Cab, inline-four, manual transmission, two-wheel drive), all other configurations have seen increases in city and/or highway fuel economy to the tune of one or two miles per gallon; the biggest improvement was to the V6 models with the automatic transmission, which saw an improvement of one mpg city and two mpg highway. Nissan accomplished this with better aerodynamics and updated internal engine components to reduce friction. Aero changes include a seal between the cab and bed, a tailgate spoiler and a new front chin spoiler. For more details on the 2013 Frontier - including a full pricing breakdown - scroll down for the official press release.