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Nissan Leaf electric vehicle goes on sale in Mexico

Nissan chief Carlos Ghosn may not be intimately familiar with the Dean Martin 1962 classic South of the Border, but he may as well start crooning the standard now. The Japanese automaker said this week that the Nissan Leaf will officially be the first mass-produced battery-electric vehicle to be sold in Mexico. So break out the horn section. Nissan will start selling the Leaf through its Mexico City dealership network and is touting features such as the car's fast-charging port. That feature allows the car to be 80-percent charged in about a half hour. Nissan and the Mexican government are also working on an "electric corridor" of charging stations between Mexico City and Cuernavaca, which is about 55 miles to the south. There will also be "charging zones" in various districts throughout Mexico City, making it easier for the newly inaugurated EV drivers to charge up in town. Nissan has been working on Leaf brand exposure to Mexico City for years, sending the first batch of 100 all-electric Leaf taxis to Mexico starting in the fall of 2011. Last month, Nissan had its best ever month of sales in the US, moving 3,117 Leafs in May and the company has sold over 115,000 Leafs around the world. Check out Nissan's press release below. Nissan becomes the first company to sell a 100% electric vehicle in Mexico Nissan LEAF arrives in Mexico and becomes the first 100 percent electric vehicle to be comprehensively marketed in the country. The car of the future is already part of the present with more than 115,000 global sales. Nissan, the leader company in electric vehicles, strengthens its commitment to promote Zero-Emission mobility by opening charge centers distributed in Mexico. MEXICO CITY – Nissan today announced the launch of LEAF, the first 100 percent electric vehicle to be marketed in Mexico. The presale starts today and will continue until its arrival on June 30. Nissan LEAF is the first zero-emissions vehicle marketed in Mexico, confirming the leadership and the promise of the Japanese company to transform traditional driving into a new silent experience. "Nissan LEAF is a reality in the Mexican market," said Airton Cousseau, CEO of Nissan Mexicana. "We are proud to be the pioneer company to introduce the first zero-emissions vehicle leader in sales worldwide in Mexico.

Airbag recall widens to include BMW, Chrysler, Ford and Toyota

The recall of faulty airbag inflators supplied by Takata has exploded today to grow to seven automakers. In most cases, only models in certain high-humidity regions were affected because the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration found in its investigation that moisture played a roll in determining whether there would be a problem. However, some companies opted for national campaigns. The exact number of affected models for these campaigns isn't yet known at this time.
BMW is recalling an undisclosed number of 325i, 325Xi, 330i and 330Xi models from the 2001 through 2005 model years and the 2001-2006 model year versions of the 325Ci and 330Ci for the driver side and passenger side inflators. Only vehicles currently registered in Florida, Puerto Rico, Hawaii and the US Virgin Islands are covered under this recall.
Neither Chrysler's filing with NHTSA nor its press release list the specific models affected, but a company spokesperson told Autoblog that at this time it only covers the driver and passenger side inflators for the 2006 Dodge Charger in Florida, Puerto Rico, Hawaii and the US Virgin Islands

Nissan looking to expand UK plant to build Infiniti Q30

With the Infiniti Q30 concept heading to the Frankfurt Motor Show next month and a future premium compact model heading into production at Nissan's Sunderland UK assembly plant, just connecting the dots tells us this new small Infiniti is headed for UK production. Backing this up, Reuters is reporting that Nissan is looking to expand the Sunderland plant by 25,000 square feet, while Automotive News Europe takes it a step further by almost confirming that the Q30 will be built alongside the Nissan Qashqai and Note.
The reports say that Sunderland is already the UK's biggest automotive plant, but the expansion will make it even larger with production capacity expected to rise from the current 500,000 units built each year to more than 550,000. There is no indication if the expansion will bring more jobs to the plant, which already employs around 6,000 people.