Pro 4x Leather Sun Roof 4x4 Bluetooth We Finance. on 2040-cars

Auto blog

France tries to dodge blame for blowing up FCA-Renault merger deal

PARIS — France sought to fend off a hail of criticism on Thursday after it was blamed for scuppering a $35 billion-plus merger between carmakers Fiat-Chrysler and Renault only 10 days after it was officially announced. Shares in Italian-American FCA and France's Renault fell sharply in early trading after FCA pulled out of talks, saying "the political conditions in France do not currently exist for such a combination to proceed successfully." French finance minister Bruno Le Maire said the government, which has a 15% stake in Renault, had engaged constructively, but had not been prepared to back a deal without the endorsement of Renault's current alliance partner Nissan. Nissan had said it would abstain at a Renault board meeting to vote on the merger proposal. However, a source close to FCA played down the significance of Nissan's stance in the discussions, believing French President Emmanuel Macron was looking for a way out of the deal after coming under pressure at home. Context The FCA-Renault talks were conducted against the backdrop of a French public outcry over 1,044 layoffs at a General Electric factory. The U.S. company had promised to safeguard jobs there when it acquired France's Alstom in 2015. The collapse of the deal, which would have created the world's third-biggest carmaker behind Japan's Toyota and Germany's Volkswagen, revives questions about how both FCA and Renault will meet the challenges of costly investments in electric and self-driving cars on their own. The merger had aimed to achieve 5 billion euros ($5.6 billion) in annual synergies, with FCA gaining access to Renault's and Nissan's superior electric drive technology and the French firm getting a share of FCA's lucrative Jeep and Ram brands. FCA has long been looking for a merger partner, and some analysts say its search for a deal is becoming more urgent as it is ill-prepared for tougher new regulations on emissions. It previously held unsuccessful talks with Peugeot maker PSA Group, in which the French state also owns a stake. French budget minister Gerald Darmanin said the door should not be closed on the possibility of a deal with Renault, adding Paris would be happy to re-examine any new proposal from FCA. "Talks could resume at some time in the future," he told FranceInfo radio.

Nissan reveals NP300 Navara pickup, is it the next Frontier? [w/videos] [UPDATE]

UPDATE: Statement from Nissan added, below.
After plenty of teasing, Nissan has finally revealed the NP300 Navara pickup, previewing America's next Frontier. Now, before we dive into all the info on this new midsize pickup, it's important to note that we don't quite have the official details on the American-spec truck, so there's quite a bit of information here that might not carry through to the North American market.
Depending on the market, the Navara will offer either a four-cylinder diesel or a four-cylinder gas engine, both of which displace 2.5 liters. Nissan claims both engines have been improved, with the oil-burner producing 188 horsepower and 332 pound-feet of torque. There aren't specific figures on the gas engine, although we should expect that it will see a nice bump from the current Frontier's four-cylinder, which offers up 152 hp and 171 lb-ft of torque. It's not clear if a V6 will be available in the US, as there's no mention of it in the Navara's literature.

Nissan breaks annual EV sales record with two months to spare

Nissan has sold more pure EVs in the US this year than any other automaker, ever. And there are still two selling months left. Last year, Nissan sold a record 22,610 Leaf electric vehicles in the US. This year, through the end of September, Nissan sold 21,822 Leafs and has been selling more than 2,000 a month for the last seven months (in some cases, over 3,000). Basic math skills make it clear that 2014 would handily beat 2013, so now we get to play the guessing game to figure out by how much. Nissan isn't yet saying what October sales were (the month isn't over yet, and we're expecting the numbers on Monday) but if we look up the general trend for the last quarter of 2013, sales stayed steady (compared to the previous months) in October and November and then shot up in December. Given the overall increase in 2014 versus 2013 (up 36 percent through the end of September), who wants to bet that Nissan will sell more than 30,000 Leafs this year? Anyone? Compare Leaf sales with the other plug-in vehicle that went on sale alongside the Leaf at the end of 2010: the Chevy Volt sold over 23,000 units in 2012 and 2013 but is way down so far this year (14,540 through the end of September). An updated Volt will go on sale in the second half of 2015. Nissan has not disclosed when a new Leaf will go on sale. Nissan has sold over 142,000 first-gen Leafs around the world and over 64,000 in the US. Nissan LEAF sets annual U.S. electric vehicle sales record - again NASHVILLE, Tenn. – With more than two months remaining, Nissan LEAF has shattered the record for the most U.S. electric vehicle sales in a single calendar year, surpassing the previous record of 22,610 that it set in 2013. "With nearly 20 electric cars or plug-in hybrid models on the road today, Nissan LEAF remains at the head of the class, outselling the nearest competitor by 50 percent through September," said Brendan Jones, director, Nissan electric vehicle Sales and Infrastructure. "Since the initial launch in 2010 our primary goal is to bring electric vehicles to the mass market in a practical and fun-to-drive package, and we continue to deliver electric cars to more new buyers than anyone else." LEAF sales in 2014 through September are up more than 36 percent compared to the same period last year. With more than 142,000 LEAF sales globally since launch and more than 64,000 of those in the U.S., Nissan is the global leader in electric vehicles. (Nissan will announce October U.S. sales on Monday, Nov.