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Nissan shares slide 5% after report Renault exploring stake reduction

TOKYO — Shares of Nissan Motor Co slumped 5% on Monday, their biggest fall in more than a month, following a report that top shareholder Renault may consider lowering its stake in the Japanese automaker. Bloomberg reported on Friday that Renault may consider lowering its Nissan shareholding as part of plans to separate its electric vehicle business. The French car maker has been pushing ahead with plans to split its electric and combustion-engine businesses in an attempt to catch rivals such as Tesla and Volkswagen On Friday, Renault said all options were on the table for separating the electric vehicle business, including a possible public listing in the second half of 2023. Any plans would be subject to approval from alliance partner Nissan, Renault finance chief Thierry Pieton said, adding the Japanese automaker was "in the loop" as Renault weighed up its options. Renault and Nissan have declined to comment on the report. Shares of Nissan fell to 509.8 yen in Tokyo, marking their biggest one-day decline since early March and underperforming an almost 2% drop in the Nikkei index. The car makers' two-decade-old alliance, which includes Mitsubishi Motors, was rocked by the 2018 ouster of alliance founder Carlos Ghosn amid a financial scandal. They have since pledged to pool more resources. In January they said they would work more closely together to make electric cars. They detailed a $26 billion investment plan for the next five years. But their unequal relationship has long been a source of friction in Japan. Renault owns 43.4% of Nissan, which in turn has a 15% non-voting stake in its shareholder. Renault bailed out Nissan two decades ago, but is now the smaller automaker by sales. Related video: This content is hosted by a third party. To view it, please update your privacy preferences. Manage Settings. Earnings/Financials Green Mitsubishi Nissan Renault

Final edition Mitsubishi Evo X arrives next June as 5MT GSR

Jalopnik recenly held an online Q&A session with Don Swearingen, an executive vice president at Mitsubishi Motors North America. If you're into Mitsu you should peruse the whole thread because questioners jumped all over the subject map, asking about getting the Delica here (not going to happen) and a new Montero (another concept presaging production is coming to the Chicago Auto Show next year), the company's fleet vehicle stance (they kill residuals, Mitsu isn't interested), and a Mirage racing series (right now it doesn't make sense). But for any enthusiast, every question not dealing with a new Lancer Evolution XI is merely a side dish. On that note, Swearingen took his turn ringing the death knell for the Evo series, saying "There are currently no plans for an Evo XI," which is kinder than his words at the LA Auto Show when he told Motor Trend, "Its time has come and gone." Nevertheless, he gave us a few more details on the final edition Evo Special Action Model that Automotive News reported on three months ago: it will be a GSR five-speed with "More horsepower, some suspension tuning, and some bits pieces that are still being finalized. Around 2,000 units will be available." Those of you hoping for a spiffier interior or a massive curb weight diet won't take much solace from that, but the 2,000 or so buyers who get to drive the hommage to The Once and Future King probably won't mind.

Mitsubishi ready to pull Evo's plug

We have all manner of unofficial metrics in the auto industry. No doubt you've heard some of them, like the butt dyno. Another popular measure is the smiles-per-dollar index - how entertaining is a car versus its price. Cars like the Mazda MX-5 Miata, Scion FR-S and Mini Cooper S, for example, score quite highly, while vehicles like the BMW M5 or Audi RS7 are great to drive, but score lower because of their much higher price tags. For a long time, the king of the smiles-per-dollar index was arguably the Mitsubishi Lancer Evolution X, which blended hair-raising thrills for the price of a well-equipped Ford Fusion Titanium.
Now, it looks like the Evo will need to hand over its title, as this generation of the rally-derived rocket is likely to be Mitsubishi's last - at least for a while. There's been no mention of just when production of the current car will end, so if you're in the market, we'd suggest trying to find a dealer with inventory ASAP. The news comes from the automaker's Japanese mothership, which says the brand will instead focus on utility vehicles and EVs. While there are no direct plans for a successor, an Evo XI as it were, the door remains open for a different kind of beast, according to Mitsubishi.
"Mitsubishi Motors does not have any plans to design a successor with the current concept, as a high-performance four-wheel drive gasoline-powered sedan," said Namie Koketsu, a spokesperson for Mitsubishi, according to Automotive News. "Mitsubishi Motors will explore the possibilities of high-performance models that incorporate electric vehicle technology."