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FCA-Renault merger talks: France wants job guarantees and Nissan on board

PARIS — France will seek protection of local jobs and other guarantees in exchange for supporting a merger between carmakers Renault and Fiat Chrysler, its finance minister said on Tuesday, underscoring the challenges facing the plan. Renault Chairman Jean-Dominique Senard arrived in Japan to discuss the proposed tie-up with the French company's existing partner Nissan — another potential obstacle to the $35 billion-plus merger of equals. Renault and Italian-American rival Fiat Chrysler Automobiles (FCA) are in talks to tackle the costs of far-reaching technological and regulatory changes by creating the world's third-biggest automaker. Nissan found out about Renault's merger talks with Fiat Chrysler only days before they became public, four sources told Reuters, stoking fears at the Japanese carmaker that a deal could further weaken its position in a 20-year alliance with Renault. A deal between Renault and FCA would create a player ranked behind only Japan's Toyota and Germany's Volkswagen and target 5 billion euros ($5.6 billion) a year in savings. Some analysts, however, say the companies face a challenge to win over powerful stakeholders ranging from the French and Italian governments to trade unions and Nissan. Patrick Pelata, a former Renault chief operating officer, also criticized the deal plan for undervaluing Renault and threatening to overstretch its engineering resources. By valuing Renault at its market price, the all-share offer attributes a negative 6 billion euro value to Renault operations after deduction of its 43.4% stake in Nissan and 3.1% Daimler holding, Pelata told BFM radio. "That's hardly reasonable," he said. "And I think that shareholders, including the French state, are bound to take issue with this sooner or later." Pelata added: "FCA has big problem because they haven't invested for the future — they have no electric vehicle platform and they've done nothing in autonomous cars." French finance minister Bruno Le Maire told RTL radio on Tuesday that the plan was a good opportunity for both Renault and the European car industry, which has been struggling for years with overcapacity and subdued demand. France sets conditions Le Maire also said the French government would seek four guarantees in exchange for backing a deal that would reduce its 15% stake in Renault to 7.5% of the combined entity. "The first: industrial jobs and industrial sites.

Nissan's Le Mans-bound ZEOD RC electric racecar nearing completion [w/video]

Nissan is working away on its ZEOD RC (Zero Emission On Demand Racing Car) which is still on pace for a Le Mans arrival in 2014. As of right now, the DeltaWing-shaped car's carbon-fiber tub and chassis have been completed. The next step will be installing the twin electric motors and fitting the seat of driver and GT Academy winner Lucas Ordóñez. If the current schedule sticks, the zero-emissions racer will hit a UK track for test laps in September.
But while those initial shakedown laps will be under full electric power, it's unclear whether the setup fielded in the UK will survive until Le Mans. Nissan itself says that it will be testing a number of "electrified" drivetrains ahead of the 2014 24 Hours of Le Mans, which is a significant departure from race car design - usually, the teams know what's powering their car before they start building it.
"Just developing a single powertrain option in only 12 months would be a mammoth task but we're looking to carefully examine a number of options to ascertain which will be best suited for Le Mans," said Darren Cox, Nissan's global motorsport director. Take a look below for a video and press release from Nissan documenting the ZEOD RC's build process.

Here's how Nissan is quietly getting ready for Leaf 2.0 [UPDATE]

The Nissan Leaf had its best sales month of the year in May, selling 2,104 units. By July that number had come down nearly 50 percent to 1,074 units, and Hybrid Cars reports that Leaf production is on an even steeper decline as the company prepares to roll out the updated 2016 Leaf. In April, Nissan built 2,575 EVs, in May that dropped to 1,569, in June it was just 504. That has pushed the number of Leafs in dealer inventories to a 2015 low of 62 days worth of sales. The trend gave the Chevrolet Volt the upper hand in July sales for the first time in almost two years, even though the Chevy's annual performance is also down for the year. The likely culprits in both cases are customers waiting on the 2016 models to arrive, along with expiring tax credits, a fleet of expired-lease vehicles rolling back onto the market, and declining gas prices. As for the much-rehashed expectations, a Leaf with at least 20 miles more range and perhaps up to 35 miles more range is what customers are anticipating in the fall. Either one of those would be a significant number that justifies not buying right now, and orders for the coming hatchback are being taken in some states. The new Leaf will also get a more conventional style and might also come in a small CUV version. We've asked Nissan for a comment on the declining production numbers, but have not yet heard back. We'll update the post if we get a response. UPDATE: Nissan's Paige Presley told AutoblogGreen, "While I can't comment on future products, I can tell you that we are managing production in line with vehicle demand in the market. With higher sales of Altima and ramping up of Maxima, we have shifted Smyrna's production toward those models. (Additionally, the Smyrna Vehicle Assembly Plant was on its annual summer shutdown for two weeks in June.) The Nissan LEAF continues to be the global leader in EV sales, and we expect EV sales to continue to rise over time with increasing emission regulations, low operating costs, reduced dependence on foreign energy sources, environmental concerns and fulfilling driving experience." Related Video: Featured Gallery 2015 Nissan Leaf View 12 Photos News Source: Hybrid Cars Green Plants/Manufacturing Nissan Car Buying Hatchback Electric