2003 Mitsubishi Lancer Evolution Sedan 4-door 2.0l on 2040-cars

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Mitsubishi's new Outlander could herald the return of Ralliart

Mitsubishi is on the cusp of reviving its dormant Ralliart performance line, and a new report suggests the label will return on a sportier version of the latest Outlander PHEV. The model could make its debut in late 2021. Ralliart's unexpected revival was announced during a presentation made to investors in May 2021, though no further details were released. Japanese magazine Best Car learned from unnamed sources that the new Outlander PHEV (pictured) expected to break cover in the coming months will be the first Ralliart-branded model in several years. How Mitsubishi will make the Outlander PHEV worthy of a name rooted in rallying remains to be seen. The transformation will include a race-inspired body kit, according to Best Car, and we're hoping more power from the electrified powertrain is part of the equation as well. While the Ralliart label could merely denote a sporty-looking trim level, like Mercedes-Benz's AMG Line designation or F Sport in Lexus-speak, there's a chance it will sooner or later be linked to racing. Mitsubishi boss Takao Kato revealed his team is considering returning to the rallying scene in the coming years to renew ties with the company's racing heritage. He stressed a rally program hasn't been approved yet, partly because racing is expensive, and he clarified that a new Lancer Evolution is not in the cards even though shareholders are requesting one. Interestingly, we should have seen the Outlander Ralliart already; it was reportedly scheduled to be unveiled at the 2021 edition of the Tokyo Motor Salon but the event was canceled due to pandemic-related concerns. Mitsubishi could keep the model under wraps until the 2022 show opens its doors, or it might introduce it elsewhere a little earlier. Regardless, if the report is accurate we won't have to wait long to find out how Ralliart has been reinvented. As for the next Outlander PHEV, it will land in late 2021 first in Japan and arrive in U.S. showrooms halfway through 2022. Related video: This content is hosted by a third party. To view it, please update your privacy preferences. Manage Settings.

Nissan posts $6.2 billion annual loss and unveils plan to cut costs

TOKYO — Nissan outlined a new plan on Thursday to become a smaller, more cost-efficient carmaker after the coronavirus pandemic exacerbated a slide in profitability that culminated in its first annual loss in 11 years. Under a new four-year plan, the Japanese manufacturer will slash its production capacity and model range by about a fifth to help cut 300 billion yen from fixed costs. It will shut plants in Spain and Indonesia, leave the South Korean market and pull its Datsun brand from Russia as part of a strategy unveiled on Wednesday to share production globally with its partners Renault and Mitsubishi. "I will make every effort to return Nissan to a growth path," Nissan Chief Executive Makoto Uchida said, adding that the company had learned from its past mistakes of chasing global market share at all costs. "We must admit failures and take corrective actions," he said, adding that starting with top-level managers, the company had to break its inward-looking culture which in the past has stymied efforts to deepen cooperation with France's Renault. Uchida said improving the company's cash flow was its biggest challenge. He reiterated that Nissan's cash liquidity was good even though it had negative free cash flow of 641 billion yen in the year ended in March. Nissan declined to give any forecasts for its current financial year which started in April due to the uncertainty created by the coronavirus pandemic. It also declined to give details on how many jobs it was cutting. In what is Nissan's second recovery plan in less than a year, Uchida pledged a return to profitability with a core operating profit margin above 5% and a sustainable global market share of 6%. Nissan posted an annual operating loss of 40.5 billion yen for the year to March 31, its worst performance since 2008/09. Its operating profit margin was -0.4%. The automaker said on Thursday that it sold 4.9 million vehicles last year, up from an earlier estimate of 4.8 million. That was still the second decline in a row and a fall of 11% from the previous period but meant Nissan clung on to its position as Japan's second biggest carmaker, just ahead of Honda and a long way behind Toyota. Pandemic pressure Even before the spread of the novel coronavirus, Nissan's slumping profits had forced it to row back on an aggressive expansion plan pursued by ousted leader Carlos Ghosn. The pandemic has only piled on the urgency to downsize.

How a powerful Nissan insider brought down Carlos Ghosn

Hari Nada   We may never truly know all the corporate skullduggery that went on at Nissan to get former boss Carlos Ghosn arrested and incarcerated in Japan, a country he ultimately fled in a box in what may be the greatest escape caper in corporate history. Nor may we ever truly know which accusations against Ghosn are or are not true. But Bloomberg News thinks it has a pretty good fix on the mastermind of the putsch, a Nissan senior vice president named Hari Nada. Nada, Bloomberg says, is "an insider known for his aggressive tactics and fondness for Marlboros, French cuff shirts and strong cologne." In a 4,600-word investigative piece, Bloomberg dials in on Nada, 56, as having directed other senior executives in a plot to bring down Ghosn, starting a year before his arrest in Tokyo. "The aftermath has been messy," Bloomberg puts it mildly, with Nissan losing billions of dollars, its management in disarray, and the alliance with Renault and Mitsubishi strained to the limits. The fortunes of the three automakers were sent reeling, with the coronavirus pandemic piling on. For his part, Ghosn is living in Lebanon as an international fugitive. Nada's role was basically as chief of staff to Ghosn, a position from which he could see that the chairman intended to strengthen the alliance, bringing the players together in one holding company. Nissan executives have long resisted closer ties and chafed at the company's junior-partner relationship with Renault, though ironically Ghosn's plan would have brought Nissan more of the parity it has always craved. Ghosn also wanted to expand, possibly by a merger with Fiat Chrysler Automobiles.  Among Bloomberg's new discoveries: Nada arranged to have Ghosn's corporate email hacked, unbeknownst to key IT personnel or Nissan's CEO. This began months before Nada began working with prosecutors in a secret deal that afforded him immunity. Jose Munoz, a former Nissan exec and ally of Ghosn's, feared arrest — and refused to Tokyo when summoned — after being tipped off by the U.S. and Spanish ambassadors to Japan. Munoz is now chief operating officer at Hyundai. Top Nissan corporate counsel Ravinder Passi says he was retaliated against after raising complaints against Nada to Nissan's board. He says Nissan initiated a police raid of his home, which Bloomberg has on video. Nada purged other executives deemed rivals or disloyal and apparently became quite unpopular.