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Ghosn's first jail interview: I was the victim of 'plot and treason'

TOKYO — Carlos Ghosn said Nissan executives opposed to his plans for closer ties with automaking partner Renault SA resorted to "plot and treason" to disrupt them and were behind the financial misconduct allegations against him. Speaking to the Nikkei newspaper in his first media interview since his arrest on Nov. 19, Ghosn said he had discussed plans to integrate the companies with Nissan CEO Hiroto Saikawa in September. But Nissan executives employed "plot and treason" to uproot those plans, Ghosn said. Ghosn, who spearheaded Nissan's turnaround two decades ago, had pushed for a deeper tie-up between Nissan and Renault, including possibly a full merger, despite strong reservations at the Japanese corporation. He remains in detention following his arrest and indictment on charges related to breach of trust and understating his salary. His arrest has clouded the outlook for closer ties between Nissan and Renault, along with Mitsubishi Motors Corp, the third member of the automaking alliance Since his arrest, Saikawa has said it was not the time to discuss revising the partners' complex capital ties. Nissan and Mitsubishi Motors have dismissed Ghosn as chairman, while he has resigned from the helm at Renault. Ghosn denied accusations of improper payments to a company run by a Saudi businessman, saying the payment had been approved by a Nissan executive. Ghosn also called accusations by both Nissan and Mitsubishi that he received nearly 8 million euros in improper payment through a Dutch-based joint venture of the two automakers "a distortion of reality," and argued his luxury residences in Rio de Janeiro and Beirut were approved by Nissan's legal department. Nissan has said it was not aware that it had paid for many of Ghosn's properties. On Wednesday, a spokesman said that the company was unable to comment on Ghosn's legal defense. Ghosn, in the 20-minute interview, denied that his tenure at Nissan had been a "dictatorship." "People translated strong leadership to dictator, to distort reality" for the "purpose of getting rid of me," he said. Ghosn added that his health was fine, and that he wouldn't flee if freed on bail. Meanwhile, NHK reported that Saikawa plans to hold his first face-to-face discussion with new Renault Chairman Jean-Dominique Senard on the sidelines of an alliance meeting in the Netherlands on Thursday.Related Video: This content is hosted by a third party. To view it, please update your privacy preferences. Manage Settings.

Nissan Qashqai caught looking sleek

The next-generation of the not-for-US-consumption Nissan Qashqai has been out doing some testing in southern Europe this week. And, if the dressed-in-trash-bags look is any indication, it's been doing a lot of roadwork so it can make weight for the big meet the weekend.
Nissan designers haven't been scared to take big design chances with recent new models, so expectations are that the Qashqai crossover will get a bold new visage for its generational changeover. What we see in these photos indicates a sleeker, slightly trimmer CUV however, with no trace of the bug-eyed look we captured recently on a testing Titan.
In the rest of the world, it's a good bet that the Qashqai will be powered by engines ranging from a 1.2-liter turbo up to a 1.6-liter forced-induction unit; that larger one good for something like 215 horsepower. Diesel powerplants will be in the mix, too, for the compact CUV, and word is that Nismo might get its hands on this Rogue cousin for the first time ever.

Renault to Nissan: Stop trying to contact our board members

TOKYO/PARIS — Renault told alliance partner Nissan to stop contacting the French company's directors ahead of a Thursday board meeting as the Japanese automaker tried to share evidence of wrongdoing by its ousted chairman, Carlos Ghosn, two sources said. Ever since Ghosn's Nov. 19 arrest in Japan, Renault and the French government, the automaker's biggest shareholder, have demanded to see the findings of a Nissan internal investigation that include allegations of financial misconduct by the 64-year-old executive. Ghosn was charged on Monday in Japan for failing to declare deferred income he had agreed to receive for the five years ending March 2015. While Nissan fired him as chairman days after his arrest, he remains chairman and CEO of its French partner. Renault's board meets on Dec. 13, and the findings of Nissan's investigation will be shared at the meeting where Ghosn's future could be also debated, one of the sources with knowledge of the matter said. The French firm told Nissan not to contact its directors ahead of the meeting, because such contact was outside the agreed channels for communication of the sensitive findings, the source said. Nissan offered last week to brief Renault's board about findings on what it considers proof of wrongdoing by Ghosn, said a second source who has knowledge of the matter but declined to be identified as it was confidential. But Renault advised Nissan to brief its lawyers instead, which led to a meeting between the Japanese firm's officials and Renault's legal teams early this week in Paris, the person said. The Japanese automaker later invited Thierry Bollore, who was named Renault's deputy CEO with the same powers as Ghosn a day after his arrest, as well as board members, to examine the contents of the findings, said the source. Bollore, though, told Nissan on Tuesday to "refrain from contacting the board," the source said. The exchange between Renault and Nissan is another example of the testy relationship between the two automakers, despite assurances by executives on both sides to preserve the alliance. The alliance, of which Ghosn has been the driving force, is widely seen as vital for the members' long-term survival. Board members invited to see the evidence included Martin Vial, who heads the French state shareholdings agency, interim Chairman Philippe Lagayette and independent director Patrick Thomas, the second source said. A Renault spokesperson declined to comment.