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Nissan testing experimental dealer with no desks or offices

Nissan thinks it has found a better way to sell cars, and it involves stripping showrooms of everything but the cars and sales team. The brand calls the experiment the Nissan New Retail Concept, and it might get tested in the US in a few years.
The concept is relatively simple. Showrooms ditch offices, reception counters, cubicles and desks. Instead salespeople walk around inside and outside the dealer with mobile devices to assist customers and even complete sales. Associates are trained to take immediate responsibility for each visitor they encounter. For example, if owners comes inside with a problem with their vehicle, the employee escorts them to the service department and introduces them.
A dealer in London has been testing the new layout for the last nine months, and so far it reports better customer satisfaction, loyalty and most importantly higher sales. Nissan next plans to launch test stores in Moscow and Stuttgart. Then it will broaden out to more of Western Europe and finally will be tested in the Japan, the US and the Middle East, according to Automotive News.

FCA compromises with France, moving Renault merger bid forward

FRANKFURT/PARIS – Renault directors were preparing to review Fiat Chrysler's $35 billion merger offer on Tuesday, after the Italian-American carmaker resolved differences with the French government overnight, three sources said. The compromise on French government influence over a combined FCA-Renault may clear the way for Renault's board to approve a framework agreement beginning the long process of a full merger, unless new issues surface at the meeting. France, Renault's biggest shareholder with a 15% stake, had been pressing for its own guaranteed seat on the new board and an effective veto on CEO appointments. But after late-night talks with FCA Chairman John Elkann, the French government has accepted a compromise that would see it occupy one of four board seats allocated to Renault, balanced by four FCA appointees, the sources said. Renault would also cede one of its two seats on a four-member CEO nominations committee to the French state, they said. Renault, FCA and the French government all declined to comment on the discussions. The same evening that the compromise was was negotiated, activist hedge fund CIAM wrote to the board of Renault to say it "strongly opposed" a planned $35 billion merger with Fiat Chrysler. Calling the deal "opportunistic," the fund said the current deal terms strongly favored Fiat Chrysler and offered no control premium. (Reporting by Arno Schuetze and Laurence Frost; additional reporting by Giulio Piovaccari in Milan and Simon Jessop; editing by Jason Neely and Rachel Armstrong) Government/Legal Chrysler Fiat Mitsubishi Nissan Renault merger

Carlos Ghosn: What misconduct is he accused of?

TOKYO — Japan was shocked by news that Nissan Motor Co. Chairman Carlos Ghosn, who was widely respected for rescuing the carmaker from near bankruptcy, was arrested on Monday for alleged financial misconduct. Nissan said that Ghosn, who is also chairman and CEO of Renault and chairman of Mitsubishi Motors, would be fired from his post as Nissan chairman on Thursday. What is Carlos Ghosn accused of? Nissan CEO Hiroto Saikawa told a packed press conference on Monday night that the company had found that Ghosn had been using corporate money for personal purposes and under-reporting his income for years in official company filings to the Tokyo Stock Exchange. Another board member, Greg Kelly, was also deeply involved in the misconduct, Nissan said. Saikawa said he couldn't elaborate as the cases are being investigated by prosecutors, who have declined to comment. Prosecutors said that Ghosn and Kelly conspired to understate Ghosn's compensation over five years starting in fiscal 2010 as being about half of the actual 9.998 billion yen ($88.9 million). Public broadcaster NHK said Nissan paid billions of yen to buy and renovate homes for Ghosn in Rio, Beirut, Paris and Amsterdam, citing unnamed sources. The properties had no business purpose and were not listed as benefits in TSE filings, NHK said. Ghosn, 64, has not been formally charged. The Asahi newspaper reported that he and Kelly had submitted to prosecutors' questions after getting off a plane on Monday afternoon at Tokyo's Haneda Airport. Saikawa confirmed they had been arrested. Ghosn and Kelly have not been seen since, and their exact whereabouts are not known. Suspects are typically taken to the Tokyo Detention Center, which is linked to the Tokyo District Public Prosecutors Office. How did this come to light? Nissan's Saikawa said Ghosn's alleged improprieties came to light through a whistleblower, after which the company began an internal investigation and informed prosecutors. Japanese media reports say the informant is a member of Nissan's legal department. The Asahi reported, without citing sources, that the informant gave the prosecutors information in a plea bargain, implying the person may have provided evidence in exchange for a lighter sentence. How much control did Carlos Ghosn have? After becoming CEO of struggling Nissan in 2001, Ghosn was hailed as the automaker's savior by implementing an aggressive cost-cutting plan.