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Chevy Volt outsells Nissan Leaf for first time since October 2013

It's been a rough summer so far for both the Chevy Volt and the Nissan Leaf, the first two plug-in vehicles from major automakers that ushered in the modern plug-in era. In June 2015, sales were down from their 2014 levels. The Leaf was down 11.6 percent and the Volt was down 31.1 percent. For July 2015, things didn't get much better. July 2015's Volt sales of 1,313 were down 35 percent from July 2014 and are down 34.8 percent for the year-to-date. Nissan, on the other hand moved only 1,174 Leafs last month, down 61.1 percent. So far this year, Leaf sales are down 30.2 percent. What's interesting with this steep decline in Leaf sales is that allowed the Volt to outsell the Leaf for the first time since October 2013. Back then, the Volt sold 2,022 compared to the Leaf's 2,002 units. So far, Nissan has sold 83,312 Leafs in the US since the EV went on sale in late 2010. Chevy has sold 80,292 Volts. Even though Tesla doesn't release monthly sales figures, there's a good chance that the pricey Model S was once again the best-selling EV in the US in July, as it was in the first three months of 2015. At that time, Tesla delivered an average of just under 2,000 Model S EVs a month. We might get some insight into more recent numbers during the quarterly investor call on Wednesday. As we've said before, the low sales for the aging plug-ins can be explained by the fact that both the Leaf and the Volt are due for upgrades. The second-gen Volt is coming in a few months. Nissan is being cagey about when the updated Leaf will arrive, but given these latest sales figures, we wouldn't be surprised if the undisclosed timetable gets move up somehow. Related Video: The video meant to be presented here is no longer available. Sorry for the inconvenience.

Nismo toying with crossovers and pickups

Nissan is apparently committed to turning its racing and tuning division into a bigger player, with new Nismo models coming out all the time. But while the Nismo division has until now focused primarily on hatchbacks and sports cars, the next project could be a truck. According to Aussie website CarAdvice in speaking to Nissan marketing chief Darren Cox and Nismo boss Shoichi Miyatani, the prospect of a Nismo-tuned SUV or pickup are definitely on the table. That could include a performance-oriented take on the Navara pickup, but also the Qashqai crossover – a prospect first mooted a year ago. And if the Qashqai and Navara are under consideration, there's no telling what Nismo might do with the likes of the Frontier, Rogue, Murano or even the Pathfinder. None of that is concrete at the moment, of course, but the market for performance crossovers seems only to be growing – and growing more accessible, too. The Germans keep making smaller crossovers and performance variants thereof, and even Fiat is said to be working on an Abarth version of the 500X. The Juke Nismo itself bridges the gap between hot hatches and performance crossovers, but apart from the 370Z Nismo and GT-R Nismo, most of the division's projects seem to be focusing on hatchbacks like the Pulsar and Versa Note.

Carlos Ghosn says his family played no role in escape from Japan

Men guard a vehicle as it arrives at the home where former Nissan Chairman Carlos Ghosn is staying in Beirut, Lebanon, Thursday. / AP   BEIRUT — The family of former Nissan boss Carlos Ghosn played no role in his escape from Japan, Ghosn said in a statement on Thursday, days after his abrupt arrival in Beirut from Tokyo, where he faces trial for alleged financial misconduct. "There has been speculation in the media that my wife Carole, and other members of my family played a role in my departure from Japan. All such speculation is inaccurate and false," said the statement. "I alone arranged for my departure. My family had no role whatsoever." Sources close to Ghosn said he was prompted to flee after a recent court session in which he learned that the second of two trials would be delayed until April 2021. "They [prosecutors] said they needed another whole year to prepare for it. ... He was distressed about not being able to see or speak to his wife," one of the sources close to Ghosn said. A request to see or speak to his wife over Christmas was also denied, the sources added, part of strict conditions set on his bail. The sources said Ghosn had grown distressed that authorities were pressuring his family to draw a confession from him after his daughter and son were questioned by Japanese prosecutors in the United States in early December. Government/Legal Nissan Renault