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Carlos Ghosn projects Renault-Nissan for #3 position by 2018

As the chief executive of both Renault and Nissan, Carlos Ghosn is one of the most powerful executives in the automotive industry. But at 60, he'll have to retire sooner than later: he's got three and a half years left on his contract at Renault, which mandates retirement by 65. But before his time is up, he intends to leave the Renault-Nissan Alliance among the top three automakers in the world. Currently the combined sales of Nissan, Renault and its various brands (including Dacia, Datsun and Infiniti) make the alliance the fourth largest carmaker globally, trailing behind Toyota, Volkswagen and General Motors, but ahead of Hyundai, Ford, Fiat Chrysler and Honda. But Ghosn sees the alliance's sales (and global market share) increasing in the next three years. Speaking with Automotive News Europe, Ghosn projected confidently that the alliance will hit the number three spot by 2018 – just three years from now. To get there, Ghosn knows that Nissan and Infiniti will need to increase their combined market share to 10 percent in the United States, growing around 2 to 3 percent each year between now and 2018. The challenge is that much more evident in North America where only half of the alliance participates. But it's not all about America. Ghosn also the Chinese market as equally vital to the alliance's success and that of its constituent automakers, projecting continued growth in China for the foreseeable future. He's also banked heavily on the Russian market, which may have dipped now, but in Ghosn's view is bound to recover. News Source: Automotive News - sub. req.Image Credit: Renault-Nissan Alliance Nissan Renault renault-nissan alliance

Nissan Canada offers box-fresh racecar for $19,998 [w/video]

Nissan is seriously emphasizing its commitment to motorsports with projects like next year's GT-R LM endurance racer at Le Mans and the company's participation with GT Academy. At least in Canada, the automaker is adding another opportunity to get people onto the track with the new Nissan Micra Cup one-make race series. Sure, the Micra might not as quick as a GT-R, but this series offers Canadians a chance to start racing for a reasonable price. Nissan claims the events have "the lowest running cost of any Canadian series," and we can't think of a cheaper turnkey new racecar in all of North America.
The cars are all based on the not-for-US Micra 1.6 S M/T model with a 1.6-litre four-cylinder engine making 109 horsepower and 107 pound-feet of torque and a five-speed manual gearbox. The only real performance upgrades are a Nismo suspension kit, new exhaust, improved brake pads and sticky Pirelli tires. For added safety, the interior is entirely stripped out and is replaced with a full roll cage with a driver protection net, FIA-approved racing seat with five-point harness, fire extinguisher and front and rear tow hooks. The whole, race-ready package will set competitors back $19,998 Canadian dollars before taxes.
The inaugural Micra Cup series begins in May 2015, and the first season is exclusively taking place in Quebec, with the promise of moving to other provinces if it's a success. Each event includes a half hour of practice, a half hour of qualifying and a pair of half-hour races. Nissan is estimating impressive fields of over 25 cars of competitors.

Nissan e-NV200 electric taxi comes to Amsterdam

Amsterdam's Taxi Electric liked its two-plus years with an all-Nissan Leaf electric vehicle fleet so much that it just got bigger, or at least with its vehicle choice. The company, which says it's the first private-taxi outfit to boast an all-electric fleet, is going to start adding Nissan e-NV200 electric compact vans to its stable of vehicles. The company started out with its Leaf fleet in late 2011 and has since put about a million miles on the 25 EVs. Nissan said in January that the new electric van will start being tested by FedEx here in the state and it has already been put through the wringer by FedEx in Singapore, Japan and Germany. Last September, Nissan said it was in the "final development phase" of the electric compact van and would start selling it to the public this year, though it wasn't real specific with details. That month, it was also announced that the vehicle, which uses the same drivetrain as the Leaf, would go into taxi service in Barcelona sometime this year. Nissan representatives didn't immediately respond to a request for more details on when the model would start public sales, how much it would cost and what it's single charge range is. Until we hear back, you can check out the official press release below. This summer Taxi Electric becomes the first taxi company in Amsterdam to adopt the zero-emission Nissan e-NV200 Taxi Electric first 100% Nissan LEAF fleet since November 2011 Pioneering Amsterdam-based company have covered 1.5 million km demonstrating Nissan EVs' quality and reliability AMSTERDAM, Netherlands – Taxi Electric will be the first private taxi company to add the new 100-percent electric Nissan e-NV200 taxi to its green-energy zero-emission fleet. The combination of Nissan's innovative zero-emission technology, in the form of the 100-percent electric Nissan LEAF, and Taxi Electric's ground-breaking city transportation model have been a recipe for success since the start of operation in 2011. Now the two companies have teamed up again to build on this success and take the next step forward by introducing the game-changing all-electric Nissan e-NV200 taxi this summer. Amsterdam-based Taxi Electric operates a fleet of 25 Nissan LEAF vehicles. It was the first private taxi service to switch to a fleet of 100% electric taxis in 2011. The Dutch company's fleet of Nissan LEAFs has now amassed a trouble-free 1.5 million km in taxi operations – proof of the electric vehicle's high quality and reliability.