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Recharge Wrap-up: EV taxis in Amsterdam, Montreal's electric carsharing goals

Amsterdam has become the electric taxi capital of the world. Taxi Electric, TCA, and Connexxion each operate electric cabs around the city, including 170 Nissan Leaf and e-NV200 taxis. Taxi Electric started with three Nissan Leafs in 2011, and the idea has caught on. Businesses are saving money on fuel and maintenance, garnering attention and new clients for themselves and doing their part to help reduce emissions and improve local air quality. The city of Amsterdam hopes to be emissions-free by 2025, and is building more and more charging stations to this end. This helps make the city the perfect home for the electric cabs. See the video above and read more from Nissan. Montreal is calling for a large electric carsharing program. Mayor Denis Coderre says that he'd like the city to be seen as a leader in electric transportation. His vision includes a carsharing program of 250 electric vehicles by next spring, growing to 1,000 EVs by 2020. This would help Montreal reach its goal of cutting the city's greenhouse gas emissions by a third over the next five years. The city also wants to build new charging infrastructure to make the carsharing plan, as well as individual EV ownership, easier to achieve. Currently, carsharing group Communauto operates a fleet of 40 EVs in Montreal. Read more at Treehugger. Enterprise Carshare has joined the nonprofit CarSharing Association. The car rental company's carsharing business made the announcement at the 2015 International Car Rental Show, during a session called "The Convergence of Car Sharing and Car Rental." "Enterprise CarShare is a well-established player in the industry and we're glad to have their help in expanding support for sustainable urban mobility in communities around the world," says CarSharing Association Executive Director Alan Woodland. Read more from Enterprise in the press release below. Enterprise CarShare Joining CarSharing Association LAS VEGAS (April 15, 2015) – Enterprise CarShare formally announced yesterday – at the 2015 International Car Rental Show – that it has joined the CarSharing Association, a not-for-profit organization committed to advancing cooperation between urban mobility providers, cities and public transit. The announcement was made during a Car Rental Show session titled, "The Convergence of Car Sharing and Car Rental," which highlighted the important role that the car rental industry plays in the evolution of urban mobility.

Nissan recalls over 220k Altima sedans over hoods that could fly open

Nissan will be recalling 220,000 Altima sedans, according to a new recall bulletin from the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration. Apparently, model year 2013 Altimas built between March 6, 2012 and February 28, 2013 are at risk of their hoods flying open at speed.
According to NHTSA, debris, corrosion and interference between the hood's inner panel and the secondary latch lever could bind the mechanism in the unlatched position. While this in itself won't cause the hood to fly open - there's still a primary latch that needs released from within the cabin - it presents a potentially dangerous situation should the primary latch be accidentally released.
Nissan will begin notifying owners of the affected vehicles, who will need to report to their local dealer for free repairs. Scroll down for the full bulletin from the government safety watchdog.

Carlos Ghosn re-arrested and thrown back in jail [UPDATE]

TOKYO — Tokyo prosecutors arrested Nissan's former chairman Carlos Ghosn on Thursday for a fourth time, on fresh allegations that cut short his brief time outside detention. Early in the morning, Ghosn was taken from his apartment in Tokyo to the prosecutors' office and then sent to the Tokyo Detention Center, the same facility where he spent more than three months following his arrest in November. He had been released on bail just a month earlier. It's unclear how long Ghosn may be detained under the latest arrest, which involves what prosecutors said was a new alleged crime. "My arrest this morning is outrageous and arbitrary," Ghosn said in a statement issued Thursday. "It is part of another attempt by some individuals at Nissan to silence me by misleading the prosecutors. Why arrest me except to try to break me? I will not be broken. I am innocent of the groundless charges and accusations against me." The prosecutors defended the move, saying the latest allegations are a new case requiring precautions to prevent Ghosn from destroying evidence. They allege $5 million in funds sent by a Nissan subsidiary to an overseas dealership were diverted to a company controlled by Ghosn. "We now have a totally different case, and we are only doing what we think is right," Shin Kukimoto, deputy chief prosecutor at the Tokyo District Prosecutor's Office, told reporters. "As a result of our investigation, we have a new case in which he must be detained, and we have appropriately obtained an arrest warrant from the court," he said. Ghosn, 65, was first arrested on Nov. 19 on charges of under-reporting his compensation. He was rearrested twice in December, including on breach of trust charges. The multiple arrests prolong detentions without trial and are an oft-criticized prosecution tactic in Japan's criminal justice system. The allegations in the most recent arrest cover three money transfers from 2015 through last year, according to the prosecutors. Kukimoto said the new allegation of breach of trust is different from an earlier charge made in January. The companies where the money was transferred to, the motives, and the alleged scheme are all different, he said. He refused to identify the three companies allegedly involved but said one company was in effect owned by Ghosn. Unlike an earlier case, in which Ghosn caused damage to Nissan to benefit himself and a business partner, this time it was merely "for his own personal benefit," Kukimoto said.