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Nissan executive Jun Seki resigns to become president of Nidec

YOKOHAMA, Japan — The executive tasked with leading a recovery at Nissan said he had decided to resign just weeks into his new job, a move that could disrupt the automaker's push to turn the corner on scandal and slumping sales. Jun Seki, Nissan's vice chief operating officer and a former contender for chief executive, told Reuters he was leaving to become the president of Nidec, a Kyoto-based manufacturer of automotive components and precision motors. He will likely depart in January after three decades at Nissan, including a stint heading its China business. "I love Nissan and I feel bad about leaving the turnaround work unfinished, but I am 58 years old, and this is an offer I could not refuse. It's probably my last chance to lead a company too," he said in a brief interview. "It's not about money. In fact, I will take a financial hit since Nissan pays us well," Seki said. He declined to elaborate further. Nissan and Nidec declined to comment. Seeking to roll back some of the costly expansion under ousted chairman Carlos Ghosn, Nissan has embarked on wide-ranging turnaround plan. That plan, which began in April, is now on track to generate a cumulative few hundred billion yen in cost cuts and operational efficiency gains by the year to March 2022, according to two Nissan sources who spoke on condition of anonymity. One hundred billion yen is roughly equal to $915 million (707 million pounds). Adding to concerns about disruption among Nissan's top management, the sources said that Seki, Chief Operating Officer Ashwani Gupta and Chief Executive Makoto Uchida have so far failed to gel as a team after being named to their posts in October. They officially took over on Dec. 1. "There was no instant, cohesive chemistry achieved by those appointments," one of the sources said. Gupta and Uchida were not immediately available for comment. Seki's resignation could further complicate Nissan's relationship with top shareholder Renault SA. Seki recently worked in Paris for a year and was seen as relatively close to the French automaker. PERSUADED IN THE END Asked if he was leaving Nissan because he was passed over for the role of chief executive, Seki said that was not the case but did not elaborate. He and Uchida, most recently the head of the China business, had been seen as top contenders for the CEO job. Reuters reported in September that Uchida was seen as more favored by Renault.

Chevy City Express headed for dealers

With competition coming from the Ford Transit Connect, it's high time Chevrolet got in on the compact hauling action and took the fight to its cross-town rival... and it's doing so with a little help from Nissan. The Chevy City Express, a badge-engineered Nissan NV200, is now arriving at dealers, giving Bowtie fans a counter to Dearborn's compact van.
"Our existing customers will love getting behind the wheel of the City Express when it's at their Chevrolet dealership," Ed Peper, GM's vice president of fleet and commercial vehicles said in a statement. "But we're most looking forward to giving potential new customers the opportunity to experience one of many Chevrolet commercial vehicles that best fit their needs."
Prices for the 2015 City Express start at $22,950. Scroll down for the official announcement from Chevrolet.

Renault chairman dismisses reports Nissan wants to split from alliance

PARIS — Renault Chairman Jean-Dominique Senard said on Thursday there was a "real desire" within the top ranks of both companies for its alliance with Nissan to succeed, dismissing suggestions the partnership was on the rocks. Turmoil within the Franco-Japanese alliance, long dogged by internal rivalries, deepened following the November 2018 arrest in Tokyo of its architect and long-time boss Carlos Ghosn on charges of financial crimes, which he denies. Attempts to restore calm were dealt a fresh blow by Ghosn's dramatic flight from Japanese justice and a series of no-holds-barred allegations he has made from his refuge in Lebanon, including that he was the victim of a plot to oust him and that the alliance is now a "masquerade". Nissan has vigorously rejected Ghosn's stance, while both the Japanese firm and Renault have tried to rubbish suggestions their two decades old partnership is falling apart. "We have a board overseeing the alliance which is made up of people who are all extremely in favor of the alliance," Renault Chairman Senard told a briefing with reporters. "There is a common desire to associate our strategic plans and a real desire to make this alliance a success," he added, dismissing a report that Nissan was examining scenarios for a possible future outside of the alliance as "fake news." The 66-year-old declined to comment on anything related to Ghosn, adding: "I only think about the future." Renault shares were down 2% by 1123 GMT, underperfoming the broader auto sector which was down on news that Washington has threatened to impose tariffs on European car imports due to Europe's stance on Iran. Renault's French rival and Peugeot maker PSA Group also gave a flavor of some industry headwinds, reporting a 10% fall in its global sales last year as Chinese demand tanked. Renault is due to publish its 2019 global sales on Friday. JOINT PROJECTS Analysts see Renault-Nissan's cost-saving alliance as vital to both companies as the car industry battles a slowdown and huge investments in cleaner vehicles and automated driving, particularly as rivals PSA and Fiat Chrysler are merging to help meet these challenges. Renault held ultimately unsuccessful talks to combine with Fiat Chrysler last year, which Ghosn described at a Beirut news conference as a huge missed opportunity. Senard, who chairs the alliance's operating board, said on Thursday that once the partnership has been rebooted, other firms might potentially want to join.