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Nissan not shuttering Leaf EV battery plants, at least not yet

The big news on the electric vehicle front today is that Nissan is considering slowing down EV battery production in the US and UK and source all of Nissan's big packs come from Japan. Nissan may also buy some batteries from the Korean company LG Chem. This is apparently causing dissent within Nissan, but it follows what Alliance partner Renault is doing in the hunt for 180-mile EVs. This change – officially denied by Nissan – raises a lot of questions here, since Nissan made a huge deal about building the Leaf pack in Tennessee a few years ago. In fact, the car's big price drop was due, in part, to localizing battery production. If the company is really going to give up on building the packs where it makes the cars, then does Nissan not see itself as being capable of producing an energy-dense battery cheap enough to compete with Tesla and its Gigafactory and GM (which, of course, has long worked with LG Chem on batteries)? Whatever Nissan decides, it needs to be ready to compete in a market that offers a $35,000, 200-mile car by 2017. "We have not taken any decision whatsoever to modify battery sourcing allocation." – Renault-Nissan's Rachel Konrad Nissan would not comment directly on the reported change, but Rachel Konrad, the Alliance's global director of communications and marketing told AutoblogGreen, "The Renault-Nissan Alliance remains 100 percent committed to its industry-leading EV program. This global commitment continues for the foreseeable future, and we have not taken any decision whatsoever to modify battery sourcing allocation. Nissan has no plans to impair its battery investments. Beyond that,we will not comment on speculation or anonymous sources, and as a matter of policy the Alliance does not confirm or deny procurement reviews." There's a point-of-view where it doesn't matter where the batteries come from if the resulting EV is competitive, price-wise. Renault CEO Carlos Ghosn, after all, said during a recent Twizy test drive that the battery is a means, and the objective is the car. In the end, Nissan is saying it has no near-term or medium-term plan to shutter plants in US or UK and CEO Carlos Ghosn says, "What's important to us is that electric car performance fully meets customer expectations." Whatever's going on, Ghosn has seen three top executives leave the Renault-Nissan family recently.

Ex-Green Beret arrested in Ghosn's escape has lived a life of danger

This Dec. 30, 2019, image from security camera video shows Michael L. Taylor, center, and George-Antoine Zayek at passport control at Istanbul Airport in Turkey. Taylor, a former Green Beret, and his son, Peter Taylor, 27, were arrested Wednesday in Massachusetts on charges they smuggled Nissan ex-Chairman Carlos Ghosn out of Japan in a box in December 2019, while he awaited trial there on financial misconduct charges. / AP   Decades before a security camera caught Michael Taylor coming off a jet that was carrying one of the world’s most-wanted fugitives, the former Green Beret had a hard-earned reputation for taking on dicey assignments. Over the years, Taylor had been hired by parents to rescue abducted children. He went undercover for the FBI to sting a Massachusetts drug gang. And he worked as a military contractor in Iraq and Afghanistan, an assignment that landed him in a Utah jail in a federal fraud case. So when Taylor was linked to the December escape of former Nissan CEO Carlos Ghosn from Japan, where the executive awaited trial on financial misconduct charges, some in U.S. military and legal circles immediately recognized the name. Taylor has “gotten himself involved in situations that most people would never even think of, dangerous situations, but for all the right reasons,” Paul Kelly, a former federal prosecutor in Boston who has known the security consultant since the early 1990s, said earlier this year. “Was I surprised when I read the story that he may have been involved in what took place in Japan? No, not at all.” Wednesday, after months as fugitives, Taylor, 59, and his son, Peter, 27, were arrested in Massachusetts on charges accusing them of hiding Ghosn in a shipping case drilled with air holes and smuggling him out of Japan on a chartered jet. Investigators were still seeking George-Antoine Zayek, a Lebanese-born colleague of Taylor. “He is the most all-American man I know,” TaylorÂ’s assistant, Barbara Auterio, wrote to a federal judge before his sentencing in 2015. “His favorite song is the national anthem.” Kelly, now serving as the attorney for the Taylors, said they plan to challenge JapanÂ’s extradition request “on several legal and factual grounds.” “Michael Taylor is a distinguished veteran and patriot, and both he and his son deserve a full and fair hearing regarding these issues,” Kelly said in an email.

'Gran Turismo' movie trailer: No surprises, but more cars onscreen is a good thing

More movies about cars and racing is always a good thing in our book. The first trailer for the "Gran Turismo" movie dropped today, and while it focuses a lot on the gaming backstory, it looks like there will be a decent amount of actual wheel-to-wheel action as well. The movie is, of course, based on the hugely popular PlayStation series of video games. Now in its seventh installation, it revolutionized the racing game world with its massive library of playable cars, digitization of real tracks, and sound effects recorded from actual exhaust notes. Unlike other recent video games that have been adapted into blockbuster movies or TV shows with actual depth, "Gran Turismo" the game doesn't have a plot.  This content is hosted by a third party. To view it, please update your privacy preferences. Manage Settings. The movie follows the real-life story of Jann Mardenborough, a British "Gran Turismo" player who in 2011 became the youngest winner of the Nissan GT Academy. The program funnels gamers into real driver's seats, and Mardenborough beat out 90,000 global contestants. He's gone on to compete in the 24 Hours of Le Mans, the British GT Championships, and Formula E.  In the trailer we see what is likely a heavily dramatized version of the events. Mardenborough (Archie Madekwe) faces skeptical parents, skeptical driving instructor Jack Salter (David Harbour of "Stranger Things''), and a skeptical rival who doesn't believe gamers can really race (Josha Stradowski). About the only one who does believe in him is Danny Moore (Orlando Bloom), a marketing exec based on GT Academy head honcho Darren Cox. An obligatory love story is also wedged in there.  Since the real GT Academy was sponsored by Nissan, when Mardenborough graduates to real cars we see plenty of R35 GT-Rs, a 370Z NISMO, and a Ligier-Nissan LMP racer. Mardenborough's rival's car is perfectly cast as a chrome gold-wrapped Lamborghini Huracan. Background cars include an Audi R8, Porsche 911, Ferrari 458, and more. Surprisingly, there's no new Nissan Z, even though it seems like it would be the perfect car to include in a movie like this. The trailer reveals almost entirely how Mardenborough will overcome the odds, not that the end would have taken a genius to guess. At the same time, motor racing is an inaccessible sport for the average consumer.