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US approves extradition of Americans accused of arranging Carlos Ghosn's escape

In the latest chapter of ex-Nissan CEO Carlos Ghosn's dramatic downfall, two Americans are about to face Japan's notoriously tough justice system. The US State Department has approved the extradition of Michael and Peter Taylor, who are accused of helping Ghosn flee Japan, reports the Associated Press. Ghosn was under house arrest in Japan, awaiting trial for alleged financial malfeasance during his tenure as head of Nissan and the Renault-Nissan Alliance. In December 2019, Michael Taylor (pictured), a former member of the US Special Forces, and his son Peter, allegedly smuggled Ghosn out of Japan in a musical instrument case on two charter flights, from Japan to Turkey, and then from Turkey to Ghosn's childhood home of Lebanon. According to the AP, the Taylors received two payments from the Ghosn family totaling $1.36 million (one to Peter Taylor's company and the other in cryptocurrency). Michael Taylor ran a business security firm after retiring from the US Army. The Taylors have been in jail in Massachusetts since their arrest in May. A Federal judge was attempting to block the extradition request from Japan, but on Wednesday, the State Department overruled her, the Taylors' lawyers said. Ghosn, for his part, maintains his innocence and says that he fled Japan because he didn't expect a fair trial in Japan's court system, which has a 99.9 percent conviction rate. Unless this saga takes another unexpected turn, the Taylors will now have to face that very system. Government/Legal Nissan Renault

Nissan Leaf has outsold Chevy Volt by 50% so far in 2015

We know, we know. The Chevy Volt and Nissan Leaf sales numbers for mid- to late-2015 aren't all that meaningful because of the impending arrival of the next-gen Volt and the expected but not-yet-totally-confirmed debut of the second version of the Leaf. Nonetheless, tracking the sales of the first two major plug-in vehicles is something that remains interesting to us, if for nothing else that the all-electric Leaf remains slightly more popular than the plug-in hybrid Volt after all this time. If we just look at August, the numbers were basically tied in the US. Chevy sold 1,380 Volts while Nissan moved 1,393 Leafs. But when we take a 10,000-foot view, the differences starts to appear. So far in 2015, GM has sold 8,315 Chevy Volts while Nissan has sold 12,383 Leafs. That means that the Nissan has outsold the Chevy by around 50 percent (to be specific, it's 48.92 percent). Since the two vehicles went on sale in the US at roughly the same time at the end of 2010, 81,672 Volts have been sold, compared to 84,705 Leafs. That's a difference of only 3,033 vehicles, so proponents of both powertrains can hold their heads high. Looking just at last month, Volt sales were 45 percent lower compared to August 2014. So far this year, Volt sales are down 36.7 percent. The Leaf didn't fare any better. Month-to-month, Leaf sales were down 43.7 percent in August, while year-to-date, Leaf sales are down 65.3 percent. Those second-gen models can't come soon enough. As always, we'll have our broader wrap-up of monthly green car sales for August up soon. Stay tuned. Green Chevrolet Nissan Electric Hybrid ev sales

Renault's ambitious EV strategy relies on historic nameplates

PARIS — Renault unveiled a more ambitious strategy for electric vehicles (EVs) on Wednesday, betting on new, affordable versions of its iconic small cars of the past to catch up with Volkswagen in the fast-growing sector. The French carmaker's Chief Executive Luca de Meo said it would launch 10 new EVs by 2025 and that all-electric vehicles would account for up to 90% of its models by 2030, dropping its reliance on hybrids to hit the target under a previous plan. Renault is betting that an electric version of its classic Renault 5 compact car, which was discontinued in the 1990s, will capture the imagination of today's drivers when it goes on sale in the first half of 2024. At a live-streamed presentation on Wednesday, the company also offered a fleeting glimpse of its new electric "4ever." model. Two sources close to the company said it was a revival of the Renault 4 hatchback which went out of production last century. "Today is an historic acceleration of Renault Group's EV strategy," de Meo said in a statement. De Meo said that new, purpose-built electric car platforms and a cluster of production sites in northern France would allow Renault to deliver EVs at a lower cost. The first of its new EVs will be the MeganE hatchback which is due to go on sale in the first half of 2022. This content is hosted by a third party. To view it, please update your privacy preferences. Manage Settings. By 2030, Renault and its alliance partners, Nissan and Mitsubishi, will be producing 1 million EVs globally a year, up from the 200,000 they made in 2020, the French carmaker said. Tesla, the world's most valuable carmaker, is already close to hitting that target, with sales of between 840,000 and 1 million EVs projected for this year. Shrinking share Renault's Zoe model, the biggest-selling battery electric car in its segment in Europe for years, is losing ground to models such as Volkswagen's ID.3 compact electric car. Figures from database EV-Volumes.com showed Volkswagen's share of the EV market in Europe soared to 25% last year from 14% in 2019, overtaking the Renault-Nissan-Mitsubishi alliance, whose share shrank to 19% from 23% in 2019. In the first quarter of 2021, Renault's share fell further to 15%, tying with Tesla for third place behind Volkswagen on 21% and Stellantis on 17%, EV-Volumes.com data showed.