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Nissan VP suggests next Z will offer multiple engines

Roel de Vries, the corporate vice president and global head of marketing and brand strategy for Nissan, told Australia's CarAdvice that as far as he's concerned, any engine in the 370Z "[needs] to deliver on what the car stands for and if the 370Z stands for real performance and real driving I think it doesn't need a V6 to do that." At first read, it could look like de Vries is softening us up for a next-generation Z that doesn't come with a V6, a move that would disappoint a lot of the coupe's fans. Or, what if de Vries was actually getting us ready for a Z with multiple engine options, instead of only a V6, in order to expand its global appeal? That appeared to be the gist of his comments, the exec saying that they couldn't sell a V6-engined Z in Europe, but even if they offer a four-cylinder there, the V6 could live on because, "why should we give it up?" With the coupe's current name a factor of the 3.7-liter displacement of it's V6, though, what is the future for a car with several engine options? Said de Vries, "We [will] definitely keep the Z name, but when we did 350 to 370 it was because of the capacity, but who says the next-generation doesn't have three engines and its not just called Z?" This kind of talk has been going on all year, the real question being how many engines will the car get and what's the endgame. At the beginning of the year, ex product chief Andy Palmer said the car codenamed Z35 would use a "downsized four-cylinder turbocharged engine." In August, Motor Trend reported that the next Z would offer "a mixture of smaller but powerful engines," including a hybrid, but that a V6 would remain the headliner. Two weeks later, MT said that Nissan wanted to transition customers from the naturally aspirated V6 to a turbocharged four-cylinder with the same power, eventually, but would begin with both on the menu. Parallel to that are Shiro Nakamura's out-loud musings about how to merge the next Z and the IDx concepts into "a more affordable, more approachable sports car." The answers, whatever they are, will be a big deal for the brand.

Chip shortage will hit Nissan, Suzuki and Mitsubishi in June

TOKYO — A global chip shortage is forcing Nissan and Suzuki to temporarily halt production at some plants in June, sources with direct knowledge of the plans told Reuters on Friday. Nissan will idle its factory in Kyushu, southern Japan, for three days on June 24, 25 and 28, while making production adjustments during the month at its Tochigi and Oppama plants in Japan, three sources said. Nissan will also temporarily halt production of some of its models at its Mexico plant, they said, declining to be identified because the plan is not public. "A global shortage of semiconductors has affected parts procurement in the auto sector. Due to the shortage, Nissan is adjusting production and taking necessary actions to ensure recovery," a Nissan spokeswoman said. Suzuki will idle its three plants in Shizuoka prefecture from three to nine days, two sources said, also declining to be identified because the plan is not public. The plan "has not been confirmed," a Suzuki spokesman said, explaining that while the carmaker gave its provisional production plan to auto part makers, it is still making adjustments to minimize the impact of the chip shortage. Elsewhere, Mitsubishi will reduce production by 30,000 vehicles in total in June at five plants in Japan, Thailand and Indonesia, a spokeswoman said, adding that the impact has already been factored into its earnings outlook for the current fiscal year. Related video: This content is hosted by a third party. To view it, please update your privacy preferences. Manage Settings. Plants/Manufacturing Mitsubishi Nissan Suzuki

Renault planning a Tata Nano rival. Again.

Four years ago, Renault confirmed that it would partner with India's Bajaj Auto to develop a rival to the Tata Nano. At the time, as everyone waited for the Tata Nano to arrive, you could have used a Richter scale to measure the tremors the executive suites of any automaker with an interest in the low end of emerging markets. Then the Nano, still the cheapest car in the world, didn't sell so well - at the end of last year its sales were just six percent of its most conservative projections - and everyone seemed content to let Tata spend the money to figure out if there really was a market for the cheapest car in the world.
Renault believes there is, kind of. Automotive News Europe reports that it will partner with Nissan to build two low-priced cars for emerging markets, one for €3,000 ($3,888 U.S.) and another for €5,000 ($6,400 U.S.). The price of the least expensive offering is nearly $1,400 more than a Nano, which costs $2,500, and that can't be considered a small sum in comparison. But one of the hindsight knocks on the Nano has been that even in emerging markets buyers don't want a car whose biggest lure is that it is cheap; they'd rather give their aspirations a bit more of a workout.
Renault's offerings are scheduled to hit the non-Western market in late 2014, which is coincidentally the same year that will see the return of the budget-minded and emerging-market-specific Datsun nameplate. They'll be built in Renault facilities in Chennai, India, with no mention made of Bajaj this time around.