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How a powerful Nissan insider brought down Carlos Ghosn

Hari Nada   We may never truly know all the corporate skullduggery that went on at Nissan to get former boss Carlos Ghosn arrested and incarcerated in Japan, a country he ultimately fled in a box in what may be the greatest escape caper in corporate history. Nor may we ever truly know which accusations against Ghosn are or are not true. But Bloomberg News thinks it has a pretty good fix on the mastermind of the putsch, a Nissan senior vice president named Hari Nada. Nada, Bloomberg says, is "an insider known for his aggressive tactics and fondness for Marlboros, French cuff shirts and strong cologne." In a 4,600-word investigative piece, Bloomberg dials in on Nada, 56, as having directed other senior executives in a plot to bring down Ghosn, starting a year before his arrest in Tokyo. "The aftermath has been messy," Bloomberg puts it mildly, with Nissan losing billions of dollars, its management in disarray, and the alliance with Renault and Mitsubishi strained to the limits. The fortunes of the three automakers were sent reeling, with the coronavirus pandemic piling on. For his part, Ghosn is living in Lebanon as an international fugitive. Nada's role was basically as chief of staff to Ghosn, a position from which he could see that the chairman intended to strengthen the alliance, bringing the players together in one holding company. Nissan executives have long resisted closer ties and chafed at the company's junior-partner relationship with Renault, though ironically Ghosn's plan would have brought Nissan more of the parity it has always craved. Ghosn also wanted to expand, possibly by a merger with Fiat Chrysler Automobiles.  Among Bloomberg's new discoveries: Nada arranged to have Ghosn's corporate email hacked, unbeknownst to key IT personnel or Nissan's CEO. This began months before Nada began working with prosecutors in a secret deal that afforded him immunity. Jose Munoz, a former Nissan exec and ally of Ghosn's, feared arrest — and refused to Tokyo when summoned — after being tipped off by the U.S. and Spanish ambassadors to Japan. Munoz is now chief operating officer at Hyundai. Top Nissan corporate counsel Ravinder Passi says he was retaliated against after raising complaints against Nada to Nissan's board. He says Nissan initiated a police raid of his home, which Bloomberg has on video. Nada purged other executives deemed rivals or disloyal and apparently became quite unpopular.

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.

Lebanon gets Interpol fugitive notice for Carlos Ghosn as escape details emerge

BEIRUT — Lebanon's justice minister said Thursday that Lebanon has received an international wanted notice from Interpol for NissanÂ’s ex-chair Carlos Ghosn, four days after he fled Japan to Lebanon before a trial on financial misconduct charges. Albert Serhan told The Associated Press in an interview that the Red Notice for the former automotive titan was received earlier Thursday by the prosecution. Ghosn skipped bail before his much-anticipated trial, which was to start in April. He arrived in Lebanon, where he was raised after moving from Brazil as a young boy, on Monday via Turkey and hasn't been seen in public since. Authorities have said that he entered legally on a French passport. A plane carrying Ghosn arrived at 5:30 a.m. (0230 GMT) Monday at IstanbulÂ’s Ataturk Airport, Hurriyet reported, adding that prosecutors ordered the arrests after widening their investigation. Flight tracking data from that time suggests that Ghosn used two different planes to fly into Istanbul and then on to Lebanon. Japanese authorities allowed Ghosn to carry a spare French passport in a locked case while out on bail, public broadcaster NHK said on Thursday, shedding some light on how he managed his escape to Lebanon. While some Lebanese media have floated a Houdini-like account of Ghosn being packed in a wooden container for musical instruments after a private concert in his home, his wife called the account “fiction” when contacted by Reuters. She declined to provide details of the exit of one of the most recognized titans of industry. The accounts of the two sources suggest a carefully planned escape known only to a few. They said a private security firm oversaw the plan, which involved shuttling Ghosn out via a private jet to Istanbul before pushing onward to Beirut, with even the pilot unaware of GhosnÂ’s presence on board. InterpolÂ’s so-called Red Notices are requests to law enforcement agencies worldwide that they locate and provisionally arrest a wanted fugitive. Serhan, the minister, said the Lebanese prosecution “will carry out its duties,” suggesting for the first time that Ghosn may be brought in for questioning. But he said that Lebanon and Japan do not have an extradition treaty, ruling out the possibility that Beirut would hand Ghosn over to Japan One sources who spoke with Reuters said Ghosn was greeted warmly by President Michel Aoun on Monday after flying into Beirut via Istanbul and was now in a buoyant and combative mood and felt secure.