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Mitsubishi Electric EMirai xS Drive concept revealed ahead of CES 2022

Mitsubishi Electric is showing the latest version of its EMirai concept vehicles. The EMirai series has made recurring appearances at CES, showing off the company's — which is a separate entity from Mitsubishi Motors — latest driving technologies. The newest iteration, whose complete name is the EMirai xS Drive Concept, is scheduled for debut at CES 2022. Past EMirai concepts ("Mirai", like the Toyota hydrogen fuel cell vehicle, means "future" in Japanese) have focused on technologies such as driver biometrics and augmented reality to make help alleviate the task of driving. The EMirai xS Drive continues on this theme with two primary advancements. In the realm of biometrics, the concept monitors the the driver with a near-infrared camera to detect their health. It not only checks on drowsiness, but emergency situations where an autonomous intervention may be required. It does this by keeping tabs on the driver's respiration rate and pulse, as well as checking for sudden changes in facial expressions like the closing of eyelids or opening of the mouth. If an emergency is detected, the car will take over and park to prevent accidents. This seems to be geared towards elderly drivers, which tend to live in rural and suburban areas in Japan where public transportation isn't always an option. Mazda recently released a similar technology in Japan as well. The system can also detect passengers, including children, using radio waves. By not relying on a weight sensor embedded in the seat like in some modern vehicles, the system can detect a child even if he or she is hiding in a footwell. The EMirai xS Drive also uses a Mitsubishi Electric High Definition Locator to operate adaptive headlights. Operating in conjunction with the driver monitor above, it turns the headlights to better illuminate the direction where the driver's head is turned, such as a curve or slope ahead. The system also looks for other hazards, like pedestrians who may be crossing a dark road, and uses the adaptive headlights to cast more light on those subjects. It also looks for vehicles approaching from behind, and projects a warning onto the road surface ahead, within the headlight beam spread, so the driver knows what's behind without shifting focus onto a rear-view mirror. It appears, though, whereas past EMirai concepts have been built around an actual show car, the latest evolution is just a four seats and a dashboard in a standalone cockpit.

Renault-Nissan goes for closer cooperation, outsells VW and Toyota

PARIS — Renault-Nissan plans to double cost savings to nearly $12 billion by 2022, partly through closer cooperation with Mitsubishi, but left key questions about the automakers' alliance unresolved. Chairman Carlos Ghosn has pledged to step up the pace of integration after Nissan took a controlling stake in Mitsubishi last year. The 18-year-old Renault-Nissan pairing has only recently begun rolling out cars on common architectures. Combined sales volumes are expected to rise to 14 million vehicles by 2022 from 10.5 million expected this year, with revenue advancing by a third to $240 billion, the alliance said at a news conference in Paris on Friday. However, any investors impatient for a new capital or management structure to speed integration and prepare Ghosn's succession were likely to be disappointed. There was "no answer from Ghosn on the possibility of a merger by 2022," Jeffries analyst Philippe Houchois noted.12 NEW ALL-ELECTRICS Ghosn has been seeking a new second-in-command, sources told Reuters in June. But such plans are linked to thornier questions about the balance of power between the two main carmakers and the French government's outsize clout as Renault's biggest shareholder, supported by double voting rights. Twelve new pure-electric models will be on the road by 2022 as Renault-Nissan seeks to defend the head-start it gained with the current generation of battery cars, spearheaded by the Nissan Leaf and Renault Zoe, as more competitors join the fray. With 5.27 million cars and vans delivered in the first half of the year, Renault-Nissan now claims the mantle of the world's biggest carmaker, ahead of Volkswagen and Toyota, even though Renault has never consolidated the sales of its 43.4 percent-owned Japanese affiliate into its own. Under existing plans, the alliance is seeking to increase synergies — from cutting costs and boosting revenue — to 5.5 billion euros next year from 5 billion recorded in 2016. SHARED PLATFORMS A fourth common vehicle platform will be shared across the alliance by 2022, the companies said on Friday, underpinning a future generation of electric cars which, together with hybrids, are expected to account for 30 percent of group sales. Renault-Nissan will aim to deliver more electric vehicles and also make greater use of shared technology and manufacturing processes.

Macron and Abe seek to avert messy Renault-Nissan breakup

TOKYO/PARIS – France and Japan's leaders met for bilateral talks to avert a diplomatic row over the Renault-Nissan-Mitsubishi alliance on Friday following the surprise arrest of its Chairman Carlos Ghosn in Japan. With the carmaking alliance facing its biggest test after the ousting of Ghosn at Nissan and affiliate Mitsubishi over financial misconduct allegations, President Emmanuel Macron sat down with Prime Minister Shinzo Abe at the G20 summit in Buenos Aires. Ghosn's arrest to face accusations including the under-reporting of income has triggered new attempts by Nissan to weaken Renault's control of the Franco-Japanese alliance, adding to challenges facing Macron at home. Macron, whose government has repeatedly pressed Japan to share evidence unearthed by Nissan's internal investigation into Ghosn, "restated his firm wish that the alliance should be preserved, along with the stability of the group," an Elysee official said after Friday's meeting with Abe. Abe said it was important to "maintain a stable relationship," according to a spokesman for the Japanese leader. "However, he said the future of the alliance is up to the private-sector shareholders. The government of Japan does not prejudge the future of the alliance," the spokesman said. The French official quoted Abe as telling Macron that "the legal process must be allowed to take its course." LEADERLESS Tokyo authorities on Friday extended Ghosn's detention for a second time, by the maximum-allowed 10 days, local media reported. Prosecutors must file charges by Dec. 10 or arrest Ghosn for new crimes to hold him beyond that date. Tokyo prosecutors declined to comment. Nissan did not immediately respond to a request for comment. Ghosn's detention has left the global auto alliance without its leader and main interlocutor with the French government, which owns 15 percent of Renault and wants to maintain the ownership structure enshrining its control of the partnership. But Nissan Chief Executive Hiroto Saikawa has made clear that Nissan wants to weaken the control of its smaller parent as it carries out a governance review. Renault's 43.4 percent Nissan stake ensures an effective voting majority at shareholder meetings, while Nissan's reciprocal 15 percent Renault holding carries no voting rights.