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Europe on track to buy more PHEVs than hybrids by 2019

LMC Automotive, formerly the forecasting division of J.D. Power & Associates, predicts that plug-in hybrids will sell better than conventional hybrids by 2019. By 2021, it envisions PHEV sales at 600,000 units yearly compared to 325,000 standard hybrid sales, and by 2024 PHEV sales are expected to account for 1.2 million sales every year. Part of LMC's prediction is based on a few factors, such as that it believes "electric-only operation will come to be seen as a true luxury characteristic and will be prized sufficiently to command significant premiums." Certain PHEVs are helped in countries like the UK and The Netherlands by generous incentives or other perks, like avoiding inner London's congestion charge, that allow them to address their price differences compared to standard offerings. And the number of PHEVs on the market will soon eclipse regular hybrids, coming from makers across the spectrum. Volvo has twice recently, and only belatedly, learned of the popularity of PHEVs: in 2013 it had to triple production of the V60 PHEV, and just this month it said demand for its XC90 PHEV is four times expectations. The Porsche Panamera E-Hybrid is outselling the traditional hybrid Panamera by more than seven-to-one. And then there's Mitsubishi Outlander PHEV, Europe's best-selling PHEV with 19,855 units, a volume more than three times larger than the second-best seller. Although LMC sees hybrid growth slowing, they're still doing well. Toyota and Lexus build the top-five selling traditional hybrids in Europe, combining for 72 percent of European sales, with the new Auris and Yaris hybrids alone selling 123,506 units in 2014. For LMC's forecast to come true, Europe will need a spectacular change in buying habits, since the top ten conventional hybrids tallied 175,847 sales in 2014, and the top ten PHEVs rang up 36,138 sales. Featured Gallery 2015 Volvo XC90 T8 View 14 Photos News Source: Automotive News - sub. req. Green Mitsubishi Toyota Volvo Hybrid ev sales hybrid sales toyota auris hybrid toyota yaris hybrid

Carlos Ghosn video: 'This is about conspiracy. This is about backstabbing'

TOKYO — Nissan's former Chairman Carlos Ghosn maintained his innocence in a video released by his legal team Tuesday and accused some executives at the Japanese automaker of a "conspiracy" that led to his arrest on financial misconduct allegations. "The first message is that I'm innocent," said Ghosn, wearing a white shirt and dark jacket and speaking calmly in the nearly 10-minute video shown at the Foreign Correspondents' Club in Tokyo. "This is a conspiracy," he said. "This is not about specific events, this is not about, again, greed, this is not about dictatorship. This is about a plot. This is about conspiracy. This is about backstabbing." His lawyer Junichiro Hironaka said the video was prepared in case Ghosn was not able to speak at a news conference planned for Thursday. Ghosn was arrested last week while out on bail and remains at the Tokyo Detention Center. Ghosn said the executives behind the conspiracy were motivated by what he called "selfish fears," including what they saw as a merger with French alliance partner Renault SA. They mistook his leadership for greed and dictatorship, when he was the biggest defender of Nissan's autonomy, Ghosn said. He also said he was worried about Nissan, wondering whether those executives were really watching out for the company. Hironaka said a section of the video in which Ghosn mentioned names was removed on his legal advice. Nissan Motor Co., while declining to comment on the criminal case, has said an internal investigation has found that Ghosn falsified financial documents to under-report compensation, and that he used Nissan money for personal gain. "Nissan's internal investigation has uncovered substantial evidence of blatantly unethical conduct," company spokesman Nicholas Maxfield said when asked for comment on Ghosn's video. "The company's focus remains on addressing weaknesses in governance that enabled this misconduct." Ghosn's fourth arrest was on a fresh breach of trust allegation based on suspicion that payments from a Nissan subsidiary to an Oman dealership were diverted to a company effectively run by Ghosn. On Monday, Nissan Motor Co. shareholders voted to oust Ghosn from its board and to approve the appointment of French alliance partner Renault SA's Chairman Jean-Dominique Senard as Ghosn's replacement. Renault owns 43 percent of Nissan.

2022 Mitsubishi Eclipse Cross First Drive Review | A welcome improvement

We’ve considered the Mitsubishi Eclipse Cross a better-than-expected option in a mostly uninspiring vehicular segment ever since it was introduced for the 2018 model year. ItÂ’s sized and priced somewhere between subcompact and compact crossovers, making it an in-betweener that may attract some buyers due to its distinctive positioning. And itÂ’s been given a pretty comprehensive refresh for the 2022 model year that erases a few of our complaints and makes it more compelling, especially against subcompact crossover models like the Honda HR-V and Toyota C-HR. In an odd bit of launch timing that we figure was probably shaken up by a certain global pandemic, thereÂ’s no 2021 edition. The 2022 Mitsubishi Eclipse Cross isnÂ’t a total redesign — it rides on the same platform and is powered by the same engine and transmission as before — but the exterior design has been given a serious makeover while the interior gets some nice ergonomic upgrades that will make it easier to live with on a daily basis. On the outside, the updates are focused on the very tips of the little crossover. A redesigned front fascia further separates the light clusters into upper LED driving lights and lower stacked headlights and fog lamps. MitsubishiÂ’s Dynamic Shield grille design features chrome swooshes that flank a blacked-out diamond-pattern mesh in the center. ThereÂ’s a definite human-esque look to the face of the Eclipse Cross, and in person the overall appearance is aggressive and interesting. The rear received an even bigger makeover than the front. Gone is the two-piece rear glass that was bisected by a faux spoiler-shaped panel with full-width taillights, and in its place is a much more conventional hatchback with a larger single-piece window. The 2022 Eclipse Cross is a significant 5.5 inches longer than the 2020 model, and four of those were tacked on the back end. That makes for a bump in cargo capacity to 23.4 cubic feet (up 0.8 over the 2020 version) with the rear seat in place and 50.1 (an increase of 1.2 cubic feet) with the second row folded. It also adds 11% more floor area for long and/or wide items. While the added space is a welcome improvement, the reconfiguration of the Eclipse CrossÂ’s dashboard and center console may be even more useful. The infotainment screen, which measures 7 inches on the base ES model and 8 inches on everything else, was moved a couple inches closer to the driver.