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Auditor had questioned Nissan on payments in Ghosn scandal, source says

TOKYO — Nissan's auditor had repeatedly questioned transactions at the heart of allegations of financial misconduct by former chief Carlos Ghosn, but Nissan said they were proper, a person with direct knowledge of the matter said on Wednesday. Ernst & Young ShinNihon LLC questioned Nissan's management several times, chiefly around 2013, about purchases of overseas luxury homes for Ghosn's personal use and of stock-appreciation rights that were conferred on him. But the Japanese automaker said the transactions and financial reporting were appropriate, the source told Reuters on condition of anonymity. The revelation shows Nissan and its auditor were discussing the transactions, in apparent contrast with Nissan's contention that the alleged misreporting of benefits for Ghosn was masterminded by Ghosn and a key lieutenant. A spokesman for EY ShinNihon, the Japanese affiliate of global accounting firm Ernst & Young, said he could not comment on specific cases. A Nissan spokesman declined to comment. Ghosn was arrested on Nov. 19 as he arrived in Japan. Prosecutors accuse him of falsifying Nissan's annual reports to understate by about half his total compensation of some 10 billion yen ($90 million) over several years. The high-profile former executive has denied the allegations, according to Japanese media. Ghosn remains in custody and is unable to speak publicly. He is represented by former prosecutor Motonari Otsuru, according to Japanese media. Otsuru's law firm declined to comment on Wednesday, and Otsuru has not responded to requests for comment. Nissan has largely pinned the blame on Ghosn and Greg Kelly, a former representative director who was arrested along with Ghosn on the same allegations. "As a result of the investigation, we are certain these two are the masterminds," CEO Hiroto Saikawa told a news conference on Nov. 19, referring to Ghosn and Kelly. He declined to say whether others at Nissan were involved in the alleged wrongdoing. An internal investigation is ongoing, and Nissan says it is cooperating with prosecutors. Nissan and Mitsubishi Motors have removed Ghosn as chairman in the wake of his arrest. The French member of the three-firm alliance, Renault, retains him as chairman and CEO.

Junkyard Gem: 1990 Mitsubishi Mirage Sedan

In the early 1970s, Chrysler (lacking funds to develop a brand-new subcompact for the American market) began importing Mitsubishi Colt Galants and putting Dodge Colt badges on them. Chrysler's relationship with Mitsubishi deepened over subsequent decades, with numerous Mitsubishis sold here with Dodge, Plymouth, Chrysler, and Eagle badging. That didn't stop Mitsubishi Motors from selling some of the very same vehicles, though, once sales of Mitsubishi-badged cars and trucks began here in the 1983 model year. Starting in 1979, Colt badges moved over to the front-wheel-drive Mirage, with the Mirage itself appearing here for the 1985 model year. Here's one of those cars, a rare 1990 sedan in a Denver self-service yard. In 1990, Americans could choose between four near-identical versions of this car sold by different marques: the Mitsubishi Mirage, Dodge Colt, Plymouth Colt, and Eagle Summit. The MSRP on the '90 Mirage sedan was $8,559 (about $15,015 in 2022 dollars) and the prices of the other three were so close as to make no real difference; customers could just shop for the best rebates and financing. Americans couldn't get this generation of the Dodge/Plymouth Colt as a sedan, though Canadians could. Most of the Mirages and Summits sold here were hatchbacks, but Mitsubishi and Eagle dealers probably wanted something to compete with the Civic and Corolla sedans of the era. Mitsubishi certainly got its money's worth out of the 4G aka Orion engine family! This is a 1.5-liter SOHC 4G15, rated at 81 horsepower. The early Hyundai Excel (and its Mitsubishi-badged twin, the Precis) got a version of this engine. If you bought the Mirage Turbo, you got a DOHC version displacing 1.6 liters and blasting out 135 horses (but it was only available here until 1989 and just as a hatchback). That 81 horsepower was even less fun than it sounds, in this case, because the original buyer of this Mirage skipped the standard-equipment five-speed manual and paid extra for the three-speed automatic. It has air conditioning, with the "Econo" mode that was so popular among 1980s Japanese cars. Not quite 100,000 miles passed beneath its wheels during 32 years of service. At some point, a set of Mercury Tracer hubcaps was slapped on the unsightly steel wheels. The lug holes don't line up, but who's going to notice? Sold out of the now-defunct Ehrlich dealership in Greeley, Colorado, back when you could buy an Isuzu or a Nissan on the same lot.

Renault's ambitious EV strategy relies on historic nameplates

PARIS — Renault unveiled a more ambitious strategy for electric vehicles (EVs) on Wednesday, betting on new, affordable versions of its iconic small cars of the past to catch up with Volkswagen in the fast-growing sector. The French carmaker's Chief Executive Luca de Meo said it would launch 10 new EVs by 2025 and that all-electric vehicles would account for up to 90% of its models by 2030, dropping its reliance on hybrids to hit the target under a previous plan. Renault is betting that an electric version of its classic Renault 5 compact car, which was discontinued in the 1990s, will capture the imagination of today's drivers when it goes on sale in the first half of 2024. At a live-streamed presentation on Wednesday, the company also offered a fleeting glimpse of its new electric "4ever." model. Two sources close to the company said it was a revival of the Renault 4 hatchback which went out of production last century. "Today is an historic acceleration of Renault Group's EV strategy," de Meo said in a statement. De Meo said that new, purpose-built electric car platforms and a cluster of production sites in northern France would allow Renault to deliver EVs at a lower cost. The first of its new EVs will be the MeganE hatchback which is due to go on sale in the first half of 2022. This content is hosted by a third party. To view it, please update your privacy preferences. Manage Settings. By 2030, Renault and its alliance partners, Nissan and Mitsubishi, will be producing 1 million EVs globally a year, up from the 200,000 they made in 2020, the French carmaker said. Tesla, the world's most valuable carmaker, is already close to hitting that target, with sales of between 840,000 and 1 million EVs projected for this year. Shrinking share Renault's Zoe model, the biggest-selling battery electric car in its segment in Europe for years, is losing ground to models such as Volkswagen's ID.3 compact electric car. Figures from database EV-Volumes.com showed Volkswagen's share of the EV market in Europe soared to 25% last year from 14% in 2019, overtaking the Renault-Nissan-Mitsubishi alliance, whose share shrank to 19% from 23% in 2019. In the first quarter of 2021, Renault's share fell further to 15%, tying with Tesla for third place behind Volkswagen on 21% and Stellantis on 17%, EV-Volumes.com data showed.