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VW was 2018's top-selling automaker — but

TOKYO — Volkswagen Group has held on to its position as the world's top-selling automaker for the fifth year in a row, although the German group was edged out again by the Renault-Nissan-Mitsubishi alliance in the light-duty vehicles segment. Renault SA, Nissan Motor Co Ltd and Mitsubishi Motors Corp together sold 10.76 million passenger cars and light commercial vehicles in 2018, according to Reuters' calculations after new data released on Wednesday. The group doesn't sell heavy trucks. Nissan said on Wednesday it sold 5.65 million vehicles last year, down 2.8 percent on the year. Mitsubishi reported an 18 percent rise in sales to 1.22 million units while Renault sold 3.88 million units, up 3.2 percent on the year. Volkswagen's deliveries rose 0.9 percent to a record 10.83 million last year, including its MAN and Scania heavy trucks, the German company said earlier this month. Excluding heavy trucks, it sold 10.6 million units. Toyota Motor Corp retained its third spot, announcing on Wednesday that it had sold 10.59 million vehicles last year including its Toyota and Lexus brands, along with minicars made by subsidiary Daihatsu and light and heavy trucks produced by its truck division Hino Motors Ltd. Excluding Hino trucks, Toyota sold 10.39 million units last year. The automaker has said it expects to sell a total of 10.76 million vehicles in 2019. Many automakers are trying to boost sales volumes to achieve economies of scale and reduce costs amid soaring investments needed to develop next-generation technologies, including self-driving cars and electric vehicles. This has been a focus of the Renault-Nissan-Mitsubishi Motors group, which is looking to share more vehicle parts and consolidate production platforms to trim R&D and manufacturing costs, while raising profitability. The alliance, which brought Mitsubishi Motors into its fold in 2016, is currently in crisis with its former Chairman Carlos Ghosn arrested and indicted on charges of misconduct. Nissan has also been indicted, and Renault appointed new top management last week. Related Video: Earnings/Financials Mitsubishi Nissan Toyota Volkswagen

Since 2010, Chevy Volt has outsold Nissan Leaf by just two units

The first two plug-in vehicles from major automakers in the US were the Chevy Volt and the Nissan Leaf. Ever since they went on sale to much fanfare in late 2010, we've been tracking the monthly sales with great interest (and, of course, other green vehicle sales as well). After a big initial lead by the Volt – the Volt outsold the Leaf 23,461 to 9,819 in 2012 – the Leaf has been chugging along and outsold the Volt every month since November 2013. We knew that the cumulative totals would soon tip in favor of the Leaf, but for at least one more month, the Volt is going to be able to say its the most popular plug-in vehicle in the US. Overall, for all officially reported sales of the Leaf and the Volt, things are almost exactly tied. Since the vehicles went on sale in the end of 2010 until the end of February 2015, the Volt has sold 74,592 units and the Leaf has sold ... drumroll please ... 74,590 units. For February, Leaf sales totaled 1,198 units, a 17-percent drop from the 1,425 Leafs sold last February. Brendan Jones, Nissan's director of Electric Vehicle Sales and Infrastructure, said in a statement that, "Tough winter weather in several key markets held EV sales back in February. As we head into spring, we look forward to seeing more dealership traffic so shoppers can experience firsthand the benefits of the all-electric Nissan Leaf." Of course, it was cold in the US last February, too, but we're sure that the nasty weather did indeed play a role last month. Things were even worse for the Chevy Volt, which dropped to just 693 copies sold, down 47 percent from the 1,210 sold last year. That's just barely enough for Chevy to keep talking about its plug-in sales leadership, but we expect the message to change once the March numbers come out next month. Related Video:

Renault, Nissan attempt to calm rumors of impending split

TOKYO/PARIS — Shares in Renault recovered some lost ground on Tuesday after the French carmaker and its Japanese partner Nissan rejected media reports that their alliance was in danger of being dissolved. Some have openly questioned whether the alliance can survive without disgraced former CEO Carlos Ghosn to keep the two partners happy.  Renault shares fell to a six-year low on Monday after rumors circulated that its alliance with Nissan was in jeopardy. Nissan shares tumbled to their lowest in 8 1/2 years on Tuesday in Tokyo. At the opening of trading in Paris on Tuesday, Renault shares rose 1.3 percent, before falling back slightly to trade up 0.49 percent by 08:23 GMT. The alliance, which also includes Japan's Mitsubishi Motors, is "solid, robust, everything but dead," the chairman of Renault, Jean-Philippe Senard, told Belgian newspaper L'Echo. A split between the two automotive giants would force both to find new partners in a fast-consolidating industry that is growing increasingly difficult to navigate for independent companies. It will be especially difficult for Renault and Nissan, whose dirty laundry Ghosn intends to air for public consideration.   French Finance Minister Bruno Le Maire also weighed in, saying reports some executives wanted to break up the alliance were "malicious." Speaking to France's CNews TV, he also said he expected Renault to name a new chief executive within days to replace Thierry Bollore, a Ghosn-era appointee who was ousted in October. Luca de Meo, who stepped down as the head of Volkswagen's Seat brand last week, is seen as a frontrunner for the job, although a stringent non-compete clause in his contract firm may prove a hurdle, sources have told Reuters. Nissan, in response to "speculative international media reports," said it was "in no way considering dissolving the alliance." "The alliance is the source of Nissan's competitiveness," the Japanese automaker said in a statement. "Through the alliance, to achieve sustainable and profitable growth, Nissan will look to continue delivering win-win results for all member companies." Concerns emerged about the future of the Renault-Nissan partnership after the November 2018 arrest in Japan of Ghosn, the man who did more than anyone else to hold together the disparate alliance of often-contrasting carmaking cultures.