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Nissan's quarterly profit fell 68% in the last quarter

TOKYO — NissanÂ’s profit fell 68% in the last quarter as a shortage of computer chips hindered the Japanese automakerÂ’s ability to deliver vehicles to its customers. Nissan Motor Co. reported Wednesday that its profit was 17.4 billion yen ($119 million) in the July-September, down from 54 billion yen the same period a year earlier. Quarterly sales jumped to 2.5 trillion yen ($17 billion) from 1.9 trillion yen a year ago. The company's chief executive, Makoto Uchida, acknowledged the company faces various headwinds, including a chips supply crunch that has slammed the global auto industry amid lockdowns and other restrictions related to the pandemic. “But I can say our operations are definitely improving,” he told reporters. Officials apologized to all those who had to wait for their Nissan cars to be delivered because of the semiconductor shortage. On the plus side, a weak yen has helped Japanese exporters, including Nissan, by boosting the value of overseas earnings when translated into yen. But Uchida said a volatile exchange rate was more of a risk because of NissanÂ’s widespread global operations. The U.S. dollar, at about 110 yen a year ago, is now trading at nearly 150 yen. “We find a stable currency as most desirable,” said Uchida. The rising cost of raw materials, as inflation pressures spread around the world, is another challenge, according to Nissan, based in the port city of Yokohama. Uchida and other company officials declined comment on NissanÂ’s talks with alliance partner Renault SA of France. He said any decision on reshaping the alliance will be announced. NissanÂ’s brand power has been tarnished by a scandal centered around its former chairman, Carlos Ghosn, who was sent in by Renault to lead Nissan for more than two decades. Ghosn was arrested on various financial misconduct charges in 2018, including under-reporting his compensation. He jumped bail and fled in late 2019 to Lebanon, which has no extradition treaty with Japan. He says he is innocent. Nissan lowered its vehicle sales outlook for the fiscal year through March to 3.7 million vehicles from an earlier projected 4 million vehicles. Nissan sold 3.8 million vehicles in the fiscal year that ended in March. Nissan raised its annual profit forecast to 155 billion yen ($1.1 billion) from an earlier 150 billion yen ($1 billion). Nissan, which makes the Z sportscar and X-Trail sport utility vehicles, earned 215 billion yen in the last fiscal year.

You'll soon be able to buy an EV in China for just $8,000 after incentives

Renault is eventually looking to sell an electric vehicle in China that will cost as little as $8,000 after government incentives kick in. According to Reuters, Renault-Nissan chief Carlos Ghosn offered the prediction at the New York Times Energy for Tomorrow conference in Paris this week. Granted, China government incentives are approaching $20,000 per vehicle, as China looks to address its cities' notorious pollution problem, so there's some wiggle room with that price. And of course, the devil is in the details, and Ghosn didn't provide any. Still, such a low-priced EV would likely challenge the dominance of China-based EV makers BYD and Kandi. And the effort would likely be lucrative, given that it has been predicted that China will become the world's largest EV market by the end of the decade. In fact, the publication EV Sales said earlier this year that as many as 300,000 EVs will be sold in China in 2016 (by comparison, Americans bought about 100,000 EVs and plug-in hybrids combined through the first 10 months of the year). BYD is expected to sell 75,000 Tang SUV units this year. With such growth expectations in mind, automakers are focusing on China for potential EV development. Earlier this year, Volkswagen Group said it signed a memorandum of understanding with China's Jianghuai Automobile (JAC) for plug-in vehicle production. Mercedes-Benz parent Daimler also stated its goal to broaden plug-in vehicle sales in China. Renault appears to be trying to make an early mark in China. Dongfeng Renault Automobile Co., the Chinese joint venture between Renault and Donfeng, is looking to start testing a self-driving electric vehicle this month. Dongfeng Renault will use a 1.5-mile stretch of road in Beijing's Caidian district for testing purposes. Related Video:

Nissan Zeod RC crash test looks like crushing the tip on a pencil

Nissan has already showed us the 1.5-liter, three-cylinder engine 400 horsepower and 280 pound-feet of torque, augmented by an electric motor, that sits in back of the ZEOD RC headed for the 24 Hours of Le Mans. At the ZEOD RC's other end is a carbon fiber crash structure that has to be tested against an immovable object, and Nissan has seen fit to show us that, too.
You know what to expect if you've seen a crash test before, but the really pointy nose on this car reminds us of a Faber Castell HB pencil being sent to its death. Better yet, it's in slow motion, and you can watch it below.