2000 Nissan Maxima Gle Low Mileage on 2040-cars

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Renault plans $2.2 billion 'no taboos' cost cutting after first loss in a decade

PARIS — Renault's first loss in a decade triggered a no-taboos commitment on Friday to cut costs by 2 billion euros ($2.2 billion) over the next three years as the automaker tries to put the Carlos Ghosn affair behind it. As ex-Volkswagen brand manager Luca de Meo prepares to take over as chief executive of the French automaker, which has been rocked by the Ghosn scandal, it did not exclude job cuts in a promised review of its performance across all factories. Like many auto industry rivals, including its alliance partner Nissan, Renault is grappling with tumbling demand in key markets like China, and said it expects the sector to be hit further this year, including in Europe. Nissan this week had its first quarterly loss in nearly 10 years and cut its operating profit forecast. In a reflection of this sobering assessment of the market outlook, Renault set a lower operating margin target of between 3% and 4% for 2020, down from 4.8% in 2019, and cut its proposed dividend against 2019 by almost 70% from a year earlier. While Renault faces high investment costs to produce cleaner car models and supply chain problems due to China's coronavirus outbreak, a major challenge remains moving on from the scandal involving former boss-turned fugitive Ghosn, which strained its relations with Nissan and paralyzed joint projects. "It has been a tough year for Groupe Renault and the alliance," acting Chief Executive Clotilde Delbos said on a conference call, adding that the broader autos downturn had hit the company "right when we were facing internal difficulties." Renault could not afford to wait for De Meo's arrival in July to attack costs, Delbos said, adding that nothing would be "taboo" as it reviews its business. Meatier goals would be made public in May, she said, alongside joint plans with Nissan, as executives repeated assurances that the alliance was on track. Delbos also stressed that Renault's automotive operational free cash flow, under scrutiny from analysts, would be positive in 2020 after stripping out restructuring costs. "We're very confident that there is no topic on cash availability within the group," Delbos said. Renault shares recovered from falls in early trading, and were up 1.8% at 1200 GMT despite it posting a loss of 141 million euros ($153 million) for the group share of net income.

Nissan, Renault reveal how they'll reshape alliance to cut costs, regain profit

TOKYO — The auto alliance of Nissan and Renault said Wednesday it will be sharing more vehicle parts, technology and models to save costs as the industry struggles to survive the coronavirus pandemic. Alliance Operating Board Chairman Jean-Dominique Senard said the group, which also includes smaller Japanese automaker Mitsubishi, will have each company focusing on geographic regions. “There is no plan for a merger of our companies,” the chairman said. “Our model today is a very distinctive model ... we donÂ’t need a merger to be efficient.” He stressed the alliance needs to adjust to the “unprecedented economic crisis,” to pursue efficiency and competitiveness, not sheer sales volumes. “Now is the time to rebuild,” Senard said, making clear he believed the alliance remained strong. All automakers are suffering from the pandemic, and scaling back or suspending production, but Nissan was reeling before the crisis struck from a scandal involving its former chairman, Carlos Ghosn. Yokohama-based Nissan is due to report its annual results on Thursday and has forecast it will slip into its first yearly loss in 11 years. Under the latest so-called leader-follower initiative, Nissan will focus on China, North America and Japan; Renault on Europe, Russia and South America and North Africa, and Mitsubishi on Southeast Asia and Oceania, for the benefit of the entire alliance. Nissan Chief Executive Makoto Uchida said the alliance planned to pursue fiscal strength together. “The synergy is huge,” he said. The number of vehicles sharing the same platform will double by 2024, saving 2 billion euros ($2.2 billion), according to Senard. The shared technology will also include electric cars and autonomous driving, platforms and car bodies, the executives said. Nissan is a leader in electric cars with its Leaf, but such technology will be available to the other alliance members, they said. The companies gave few details of how the revamp would deliver in the short term, as the car industry grapples with the fallout from the coronavirus pandemic and pressure to develop less polluting vehicles. They said in a joint statement that they aimed to produce nearly half of their vehicles under the new leader-follower approach by 2025 and hoped to cut investment per model in the scheme by up to 40%. The range of vehicles they produce is expected to fall by 20% by 2025 though the firms did not say how many jobs would go as they shift production.

Nissan Juke Nismo RSnow is just the ticket for the next Snowpocalypse

With large swathes of the US either still getting now or digging out of the stuff, Nissan is teasing us all again with its Juke Nismo RSnow that has absolutely no fear of getting stuck in the inclement weather. The company first teased this custom's abilities on Twitter last week, and now it has released even more images and video of the RSnow powering through the powder. Beyond the obvious tracks, the Juke Nismo RS has remained mostly stock, though. Nissan had to trim the fascias for extra clearance, and the torque-vectoring all-wheel drive system was also reprogrammed. Otherwise, things are just like the regular version of the high-performance compact crossover, and even the CVT remains in place. The RSnow is made to support an ice-driving event in Lapland, Finland, and according to Nissan, this clip shows it at work on the Uddjaur Lake there. Traction is clearly not a concern on the ice. This is likely just the CUV many people around the Great Lakes and in the Northeast wish they could be driving right now.