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Renault chairman dismisses reports Nissan wants to split from alliance

PARIS — Renault Chairman Jean-Dominique Senard said on Thursday there was a "real desire" within the top ranks of both companies for its alliance with Nissan to succeed, dismissing suggestions the partnership was on the rocks. Turmoil within the Franco-Japanese alliance, long dogged by internal rivalries, deepened following the November 2018 arrest in Tokyo of its architect and long-time boss Carlos Ghosn on charges of financial crimes, which he denies. Attempts to restore calm were dealt a fresh blow by Ghosn's dramatic flight from Japanese justice and a series of no-holds-barred allegations he has made from his refuge in Lebanon, including that he was the victim of a plot to oust him and that the alliance is now a "masquerade". Nissan has vigorously rejected Ghosn's stance, while both the Japanese firm and Renault have tried to rubbish suggestions their two decades old partnership is falling apart. "We have a board overseeing the alliance which is made up of people who are all extremely in favor of the alliance," Renault Chairman Senard told a briefing with reporters. "There is a common desire to associate our strategic plans and a real desire to make this alliance a success," he added, dismissing a report that Nissan was examining scenarios for a possible future outside of the alliance as "fake news." The 66-year-old declined to comment on anything related to Ghosn, adding: "I only think about the future." Renault shares were down 2% by 1123 GMT, underperfoming the broader auto sector which was down on news that Washington has threatened to impose tariffs on European car imports due to Europe's stance on Iran. Renault's French rival and Peugeot maker PSA Group also gave a flavor of some industry headwinds, reporting a 10% fall in its global sales last year as Chinese demand tanked. Renault is due to publish its 2019 global sales on Friday. JOINT PROJECTS Analysts see Renault-Nissan's cost-saving alliance as vital to both companies as the car industry battles a slowdown and huge investments in cleaner vehicles and automated driving, particularly as rivals PSA and Fiat Chrysler are merging to help meet these challenges. Renault held ultimately unsuccessful talks to combine with Fiat Chrysler last year, which Ghosn described at a Beirut news conference as a huge missed opportunity. Senard, who chairs the alliance's operating board, said on Thursday that once the partnership has been rebooted, other firms might potentially want to join.

Nissan really milking this whole glow-in-the-dark Leaf thing

With the all-electric Nissan Leaf forgoing gas in favor of electricity, one doesn't generally associate the Leaf with anything involving "gallons." But the Japanese automaker has apparently gone all-in with this glow-in-the-dark paint shtick, and it has a Guinness World Record to prove it. For art's sake. Artist Ian Cook, of Popbangcolour, set out to create the world's largest glow-in-the-dark painting, and got a little help from a Leaf equipped with special paint that absorbs ultraviolet energy during the day, and can glow for as long as 10 hours at night. With the paint applied to the car's tires, the vehicle helped draw, yes, a "self-portrait." The painting, which took more than two days to complete and about 16 gallons of luminous acrylic paint on a giant PVC-coated canvas, measures more than 2,200 square feet, beating out the previous record of about 1,800 square feet set early last year. Earlier this year, Nissan started publicizing its work with inventor Hamish Scott at creating a special coating that gives that glow-in-the-dark effect and is even fully organic. The same type of paint was used along about a third of a mile along a Dutch "Smart Highway" whose stripes absorb rays during the day and glow at night. Cool. To see the nighttime friendly Leaf in action, take a look at Nissan's 84-second video about the big painting here and read Nissan's press release below. Glow-in-the-dark Nissan LEAF breaks Guinness World Records title for "Largest Glow-in-the-Dark Painting" Nissan uses glow-in-the-dark Nissan LEAF to achieve Guinness World Records title for the Largest Glow-in-the-Dark Painting title Artist Ian Cook, of Popbangcolour, used the tires of the LEAF to drive the glow-in-the-dark paint across the canvas Guinness World Records has confirmed that the painting, measuring 207.68m2, has broken the previous existing "Largest Glow-in-the-Dark Painting" Guinness World Records title LONDON – Nissan has broken the Guinness World Records title for the Largest Glow-in-the-Dark Painting by using the glow-in-the-dark Nissan LEAF to paint a 207.68m2 self-portrait of the 100-percent electric car. The painting, which depicts the front of a Nissan LEAF, was created by maverick motoring artist Ian Cook of Popbangcolour.

Nissan and Carlos Ghosn settle SEC claims over undisclosed compensation

WASHINGTON — Nissan and its former Chief Executive Carlos Ghosn have agreed to settle claims from the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission over false financial disclosures related to Ghosn's compensation, an SEC statement said on Monday. Nissan will pay $15 million, while Ghosn agreed to a $1 million civil penalty and a 10-year ban from serving as an officer or director of a publicly traded U.S. company, the SEC statement said. Ghosn was arrested in Japan and fired by Nissan last year. He is awaiting trial in Tokyo on financial misconduct charges that he denies. Former Nissan human resources official Gregory Kelly agreed to a $100,000 penalty and a five-year officer and director ban. Nissan, Ghosn, and Kelly settled without admitting or denying the SEC's allegations and findings. The SEC said in total Nissan in its financial disclosures omitted more than $140 million to be paid to Ghosn in retirement — a sum that ultimately was not paid. The SEC also accused Ghosn in a suit filed in New York that he engaged in a scheme to conceal more than $90 million of compensation. That suit is being settled as part of the agreement announced Monday. Nissan confirmed it had settled the allegations and said it "is firmly committed to continuing to further cultivate robust corporate governance." Nissan provided significant cooperation to the SEC, the agency said. The company now has a new governance structure with three statutory committees — audit, compensation and nomination — and has amended its securities reports for all relevant years. The SEC said beginning in 2004 Nissan's board delegated to Ghosn the authority to set individual director and executive compensation levels, including his own. The SEC said "Ghosn and his subordinates, including Kelly, crafted various ways to structure payment of the undisclosed compensation after Ghosn's retirement, such as entering into secret contracts, backdating letters to grant Ghosn interests in Nissan's Long Term Incentive Plan, and changing the calculation of Ghosn's pension allowance to provide more than $50 million in additional benefits." "Investors are entitled to know how, and how much, a company compensates its top executives. Ghosn and Kelly went to great lengths to conceal this information from investors and the market," said Stephanie Avakian, co-director of the SEC's Division of Enforcement.