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Nissan considering Rogue Hybrid for US

If Nissan can pull 48 miles per gallon out of a hybrid version of the Rogue we say "go for it" to the rumored discussions it may be considering just such a vehicle for the United States. The Japanese automaker is already gearing up to start selling the X-Trail (the JDM Rogue) in hybrid form in Japan. So why not the US? Indeed, the compact crossover may soon get a hybrid version here, Automotive News says, citing comments from Rogue chief engineer Nobusuke Toukura. The X-Trail Hybrid, which goes on sale in Japan next month, cuts nitrogen oxide emissions by 75 percent compared to the gas-powered version while offering more torque from of a smaller gas engine. The model, which sells in the $23,000-to-$27,000 range, also gets an impressive 48 mpg (on the more lenient Japan driving cycle). NIssan USA spokesman Brian Brockman said the company hadn't made any announcements regarding a possible Rogue Hybrid for the US and declined to comment further. The Rogue is Nissan's second-best-selling model in the US, behind the Altima. Through March, Rogue sales were up 28 percent from a year earlier to more than 64,000 units. While hybrids account for a far higher percentage of new vehicles in Japan than in the US, increased US fuel-economy standards combined with the model's popularity make the Rogue Hybrid a fairly logical next step for the model.

Ghosn says having Apple in EV business would be good news

Nissan once promised to have commercially viable autonomous vehicles on the road by 2020 and even certified a Leaf to test the technology in Japan. The company has since backpedaled a bit from its original lofty claims, though. During CEO Carlos Ghosn's keynote presentation at the Mobile World Congress in Barcelona, Spain, the auto exec talked more about the automaker's strategy and directly confronted Apple's rumored entry into the market. "When Apple says they are going to come with an electric car in 2020, that's good news for us," he said in his speech, according to Adweek. Ghosn took the view that any company able to grow the acceptance of EVs would help every automaker in the segment. The Renault-Nissan Alliance has been at the forefront of developing the market and claimed nearly 60 percent of the global market share last year. He was also the latest auto industry heavyweight to voice his opinion on Apple entering the industry. However, in contrast to former General Motors boss Dan Akerson, the Nissan CEO was much more welcoming. Ghosn also used the speech as a chance to clarify Nissan's plans for autonomous vehicles and seemingly pushed the original goal back by about five years. "In 10 years, you'll have cars without the driver. It is here, and it's going to transform the products," he said, according to Adweek. Under Nissan's current timeline, traffic-jam assist and fully automated parking are due in 2016, followed by automatic lane changing in 2018 and the ability to drive through intersections without a driver's control comes in 2020. News Source: AdweekImage Credit: Yasuyoshi Chiba / AFP / Getty Images Green Nissan Renault Technology Emerging Technologies Autonomous Vehicles Electric

Renault will develop and build the next-generation Nissan Micra

PARIS — French carmaker Renault will develop and assemble the next generation of partner NissanÂ’s Micra models, a senior executive at the Japanese firm said, as the two companies try to reboot their alliance with tighter cooperation in production. Ashwani Gupta, NissanÂ’s chief operating officer, said in an interview with FranceÂ’s Le Monde newspaper published on Monday that the Micra plan was an example of their “leader-follower” strategy, with one firm taking the lead on certain car types. Nissan Micra models are already assembled at RenaultÂ’s Flins factory in France, although that site is set to be turned over to recycling activities around 2024, when the life cycle of the car ranges made there expires. “For the next generation of Micra, we will follow Renault, and we will ask Renault to develop and make the future Micra for us,” Gupta said. Both struggling financially, Renault and Nissan have cleared the decks of old managers and outlined joint cost-saving plans as they try to move on from a scandal surrounding former alliance boss Carlos Ghosn. Ghosn, who fled detention in Japan and is now in Lebanon, denies financial misconduct charges against him.