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EZ-Charge program will get rolled out for all vehicles [UPDATE]

UPDATE: It appears that Chargepoint has pulled out of the program. It looks like a myriad of vehicles will be eligible for the single-card recharging program under NRG Energy's NRG eVgo division. The EZ-Charge platform that Nissan said last month would allow Leaf owners to use multiple vehicle recharging networks with a single card will soon be offered to other plug-in vehicles. eVgo will start sending out EZ-Charge cards this summer to various markets in Northern and Southern California and Texas as well as the Pacific Northwest, Phoenix, Nashville and Washington, DC. EZ-Charge uses a single card that is good for eVgo stations as well as stations within the ChargePoint, Blink and AeroVironment networks. It will debut in 10 EZ-Charge markets on July 1. By mid-2015, 15 more markets will be added. Nissan announced the 'No Charge to Charge' program last month at the New York Auto Show. Nissan said at the time that Leaf buyers would get two years of free charging, but individual charging sessions were limited to 30 minutes at CHAdeMO stations and an hour at the more-common Level 2 stations. The automaker also estimated that the 25 markets included by next year account for more than 80 percent of US Leaf sales. Take a look at NRG's press release below. NRG eVgo Introduces New Convenience to Electric Vehicle Charging First-of-Its-Kind EZ-Charge All-Access Card gives EV drivers convenience to use chargers from multiple charging providers PRINCETON, N.J.--(BUSINESS WIRE)--This summer, NRG eVgo, a subsidiary of NRG Energy, Inc. (NYSE:NRG), will roll out the EZ-Charge (SM) platform, a first-of-its-kind initiative that will offer electric vehicle (EV) drivers the ability to access multiple EV charging networks with a single all-access card. "For too long, EV drivers have been limited to only the chargers that were in their network meaning they might drive past a number of charging stations in other company's networks before they could get to one they could use with their current provider" The EZ-Charge platform will enable drivers of any electric car make or model to carry a single access card for charging on multiple networks, much like consumers today carry a single credit card to access multiple retailers.

Nissan recalls 640k crossovers for wiring issue, hood release

The National Highway Traffic Safety Administration has announced two separate recalls affecting hundreds of thousands of Nissan crossovers. The larger of the two involves the electrical system in 2008-2013 model year Rogue CUVs. In affected vehicles, a mixture of moisture and salt seeping in through the carpet on the driver's side could cause the harness connector to short, potentially causing a fire. The issue involves Nissan Rogues manufactured between March 7, 2007, and November 26, 2013, as well as examples of the 2014 Rogue Select manufactured between September 23, 2013, and July 2, 2014. All told, that comes to an estimated 468,815 units in the United States alone. The second recall affects the relatively smaller quantity of 170,665 vehicles, made up of 2013-14 Nissan Pathfinder, 2014 Pathfinder Hybrid, 2013 Infiniti JX35, 2014 QX60 and 2014 QX60 Hybrid models. (The JX35 was recently relabeled as the QX60 under Infiniti's new nomenclature.) The issue affecting some of those vehicles revolves around a hood release cable that may not properly latch. Nissan is notifying owners of the affected units to bring their vehicles in to have the wiring checked and to replace the harness connector and seal in the former case, and to have the hood release mechanism modified in the latter. All told, an estimated 639,480 vehicles are being recalled as part of the two campaigns. RECALL Subject : Electrical Short Due to Water Seepage Report Receipt Date: JAN 26, 2015 NHTSA Campaign Number: 15V032000 Component(s): ELECTRICAL SYSTEM Manufacturer: Nissan North America, Inc. SUMMARY: Nissan North America, Inc. (Nissan) is recalling certain model year 2008-2013 Nissan Rogue vehicles manufactured March 7, 2007, to November 26, 2013, and 2014 Nissan Rogue Select vehicles manufactured September 23, 2013, to July 2, 2014. The affected vehicles may experience an electrical short in the harness connector due to a mixture of snow/water and salt seeping through the carpet on the driver side floor near the harness connector. CONSEQUENCE: An electrical short can cause a vehicle fire. REMEDY: Nissan will notify owners, and dealers will inspect the kick panel wiring harness connector and will if necessary install a new harness connector and waterproof seal, free of charge. The manufacturer has not yet provided a notification schedule. Owners may contact Nissan customer service at 1-800-647-7261.

Nissan expands Ghosn probe to more countries, executive Munoz under scrutiny, sources say

BEIJING — Nissan Motor Co Ltd has broadened its investigation into ousted chairman Carlos Ghosn to include dealings that took place in the United States, India and Latin America, three people with knowledge of the inquiry said. In one aspect of their internal probe, company investigators are looking into decisions made in the United States by Jose Munoz who led Nissan's North American operations from 2014 to 2018, the people said. Munoz was recently placed on a leave of absence due to the probe, they added. Nissan said this month that Munoz, its chief performance officer and widely seen within the industry as close to Ghosn, was on leave "to allow him to assist the company by concentrating on special tasks arising from recent events." Munoz is not cooperating with investigators, two of the people with knowledge of the probe said, both describing his actions as "stonewalling". One of the sources described Munoz, who currently heads Nissan's China operations, as a "person of interest" in the probe, adding that it was not clear whether he would be accused of any wrongdoing. Munoz, 53, did not reply to Reuters requests for comment. The people with knowledge of the probe spoke to Reuters on condition of anonymity due to the sensitivity of the matter. A lawyer for Ghosn, Motonari Otsuru, said in an emailed comment: "I am unaware of this." Some of the questions put to Munoz relate to dealer franchise rights, one of the sources said. Other questions relate to contracts with parts suppliers and service providers that Munoz approved when he was at the helm of Nissan's U.S. operations, another source said. The sources said the findings made as part of the probe into Ghosn's affairs in the U.S. market are being shared with prosecutors. Tokyo prosecutors declined to comment. Nissan has said its internal investigation had uncovered "substantial and convincing evidence of misconduct" by Ghosn and that its scope is expanding. Ghosn, once the most celebrated executives in the auto industry and the anchor of Nissan's alliance with France's Renault SA, has been charged with under-reporting his income. On Friday, he was also charged with aggravated breach of trust, accused of shifting personal investment losses worth 1.85 billion yen ($17 million) to Nissan. In his first public appearance since his Nov.