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Recharge Wrap-up: Zero to debut 2015 lineup, Nissan extends New Mobility carsharing in Japan

Nissan is extending its carsharing service in Yokohama, Japan for another year. The service, called "Choimobi Yokohama," will use data gathered during its first year to make improvements going forward, including new payment options. The one-way service provides users zero-emission driving with Nissan's New Mobility Concept EVs. Nissan will scale back the number of vehicles from 70 to 50 for the second year. As of September 15, membership was at 10,651 users. Read more in the press release, below. In other Nissan news, the company has a new ad showcasing the benefit of the Leaf's available torque. The video depicts one of the fun parts of driving an EV, which is having 100 percent of the torque available from zero rpm, and shows a Leaf driver pulls away quickly from a stoplight in an impromptu drag race. The ad finishes by reminding Leaf drivers to "use your torque wisely." Watch it below. Analysts predict a booming EV charging infrastructure in South Korea. Government subsidies will encourage this rapid expansion, as the Ministry of Environment South Korea has a plan to fully fund level 2 chargers, plus the installation fee for DC chargers. The availability and shorter charging time of these stations are likely to help convince people to adopt EVs, as well. Analysts at Frost & Sullivan predict 90,000 charging stations around the country by 2020, as you can see in the press release below. Zero Motorcycles is set to debut its 2015 line of electric motorcycles. They will first be unveiled at Intermot in Cologne, Germany beginning September 30. The new all-electric models will then see their US launch at AIMExpo in Orlando, Florida beginning October 16. Zero Motorcycles VP of Global Marketing Scot Harden says, "We are confident that the new line will exceed expectations and look forward to seeing how the motorcycle world responds." Read more in the press release, below. This content is hosted by a third party. To view it, please update your privacy preferences. Manage Settings. Nissan Extends its Groundbreaking 'Choimobi Yokohama' Car Sharing Service for Another Year YOKOHAMA, Japan (September 19, 2014) - Nissan Motor Co., Ltd and the City of Yokohama revealed today that they will extend the one-year trial run of the first large-scale One-way Car Sharing Service in Japan, called "Choimobi Yokohama," for another year. The service, which kicked off on October 11, 2013, features Nissan's New Mobility Concept electric vehicles.

Renault names new leaders as jailed Carlos Ghosn bows out

PARIS — Renault appointed Michelin boss Jean-Dominique Senard as its new chairman on Thursday, after Carlos Ghosn was forced to resign in the wake of a financial scandal that has rocked the French carmaker and its alliance with Japan's Nissan. Senard will become chairman immediately, the company said, with deputy chief executive Thierry Bollore taking over Ghosn's other Renault role as full CEO. The appointments may begin to ease a Renault-Nissan leadership crisis that erupted after Ghosn's Nov. 19 arrest in Japan and swift dismissal as Nissan chairman. Senard, 65, now faces the task of soothing relations with Renault's Japanese partner and resuming talks on a new alliance structure to cement the 20-year-old partnership. "It's important that this alliance remain extremely strong," Senard told reporters after a board meeting - citing the mounting investment demands of new vehicle technologies. "It is our compulsory duty to go forward together." Ghosn's exit also marks a clear end to one of the auto industry's most feted careers, two decades after he was despatched by former Renault boss Louis Schweitzer to rescue newly acquired Nissan from near-bankruptcy — a feat he pulled off in two years. After 14 years as Renault CEO and a decade as chairman, Ghosn formally resigned from both roles on the eve of the board meeting. Ghosn's arrest and indictment for financial misconduct has strained the Renault-Nissan relationship, threatening the future of the industrial partnership he transformed into a global carmaking giant over two decades. For two months, the tensions deepened as Renault and the French government stuck by Ghosn despite the revelation he had arranged to be paid tens of millions of dollars in additional income, unbeknownst to shareholders. Ghosn has been charged with failing to disclose more than $80 million in additional compensation for 2010-18 that he had agreed to be paid later. Nissan director Greg Kelly and the Japanese company itself have also been indicted. Both men deny the deferred pay was illegal or required disclosure, while not contesting the agreements' existence. Ghosn has denied a separate breach of trust charge over personal investment losses he temporarily transferred to Nissan in 2008. Ghosn had agreed in recent days to step down from Renault, Reuters reported on Tuesday — but only after the French government, Renault's biggest shareholder, called for leadership change and his bail requests were rejected.

Ghosn hid part of Nissan salary, fearing he'd be forced out of Renault, exec testifies

TOKYO — Carlos Ghosn hid part of his compensation at Nissan because he feared the French government would force him out of Renault if it discovered how much he earned, an executive at the Japanese carmaker told a Tokyo court on Thursday. Hari Nada, a former Nissan vice president in charge of legal affairs, has been described as organizer of a putsch against Ghosn and is a key whistleblower in the case brought by Japanese prosecutors against the former Nissan and Renault boss, who was arrested in 2018. Nada was testifying at the trial of former Nissan executive Greg Kelly, who is charged with helping Ghosn hide 9.3 billion yen ($89 million) in compensation over eight years through deferred payments after Japan introduced new rules requiring executives to disclose payments above 1 billion yen. Kelly has pleaded not guilty. He has been on bail in Japan since his release from jail in 2018 and is facing trial without Ghosn because his co-accused fled to Lebanon in December 2019. Ghosn, who was one of the world's most prominent auto bosses as head of the Renault-Nissan-Mitsubishi alliance, has denied wrongdoing. He says he is the victim of a boardroom coup by former Nissan colleagues worried he would push through a merger between Nissan and Renault, its largest shareholder. Nada told the court that Ghosn had concealed his true compensation because he feared the repercussions in France. He said Kelly had given him this information. "He didn't want to be fired. If he paid himself what he wanted and that was disclosed, the French state would have felt obliged to fire him," said Nada, who agreed to cooperate with Japanese prosecutors in return for immunity from prosecution. France's economy ministry declined to comment. Nada was demoted following Ghosn's arrest. Ghosn, who is also charged with enriching himself through $5 million in payments to a Middle East car dealership, and for a breach of trust for temporarily transferring personal financial losses to his employer's books, also denies any wrongdoing. A former Nissan chief operating officer offered another perspective on Tuesday, outlining the pains company officials took to hide GhosnÂ’s pay, because they worried about his quitting for a rival. “Carlos Ghosn is a world-class business leader and CEO,” said Toshiyuki Shiga, testifying at the trial of his former colleague Greg Kelly, charged with under-reporting GhosnÂ’s compensation.