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Carlos Ghosn sues Nissan-Mitsubishi in the Netherlands

AMSTERDAM — Carlos Ghosn has launched a court case in the Netherlands against Japanese carmakers Nissan Motor and Mitsubishi Motors, who ousted him as chairman of their alliance last year on charges of embezzlement, Dutch newspaper NRC reported on Saturday. Ghosn is seeking 15 million euros ($16.8 million) in damages from the carmakers, as grave mistakes were made when he was sacked, NRC reported, citing his lawyer. "In the Netherlands, if you want to fire an executive you have to first tell him what he's being accused of, and you have to provide him with the evidence for the accusations. Neither of those things has happened," lawyer Laurens de Graaf told NRC. Ghosn fell from grace late last year when he was arrested in Japan and sacked by Nissan on charges of financial misconduct, which he denies. He has also been fired as the CEO and chairman of French carmaker Renault. Ghosn was freed in April from jail in Japan on a $4.5 million bail. Among other charges of fraud and misconduct, Nissan and Mitsubishi have said Ghosn improperly received $9 million in compensation from their joint venture. Suspect expenses Ghosn made when he chaired Renault and Nissan amounted to about 11 million euros, Renault's board said in June. Ghosn holds French, Lebanese and Brazilian citizenship, but opted for the fiscally more friendly Netherlands as his tax domicile in 2012. The holding company for the Nissan-Mitsubishi alliance is also incorporated in the Netherlands. The district court in Amsterdam is reviewing the case but has not set a trial date yet, NRC said. Government/Legal Hirings/Firings/Layoffs Mitsubishi Nissan Carlos Ghosn

Nissan ZEOD RC completes 24 laps at Le Mans

Well, that's a nice start. Nissan says a test version of its ZEOD RC racecar has completed its first 24 laps at Le Mans in France. And, aside from two "small technical issues," things went swimmingly. The ZEOD (which stands for "zero emissions on demand") RC pairs a 1.5-liter, three-cylinder engine with a couple of electric motors and includes regenerative braking. The Japanese automaker first started testing the vehicle last fall. The first ZEOD prototype was unveiled at Le Mans last summer. Driven by Wolfgang Reip and Tommy Erdos, the test-version ZEOD suffered from a broken fuel pump and faulty exhaust, but still completed "large sections" of the circuit on electric power alone, so Nissan is gonna call the test run a success. The goal, of course, is to complete a single, 8.5-mile lap at Le Mans purely on electric power. Nissan will test the real version of the ZEOD this week in the UK. Satoshi Motoyama and Lucas Ordonez will drive with Reip at the actual Le Mans race. Check out Nissan's press release below, and take a look (you can cringe a bit if you want) at a really cool crash-test video of the car from last month here. Nissan ZEOD RC on track at Le Mans for the first time SILVERSTONE, UK & LE MANS, FRANCE – The Nissan ZEOD RC completed its first 24 laps of Circuit de la Sarthe with GT Academy winner Wolfgang Reip and two-time Le Mans P2 winner Tommy Erdos at the wheel. While the car was delayed with two small technical issues – a broken fuel pump issue and a broken exhaust – today's test was an important step in the development of the car that aims to complete an entire lap of Le Mans on pure electric power. "Today has been a very important step in the development of the car and what we have achieved is actually quite remarkable," said NISMO's Global Head of Brand, Marketing & Sales, Darren Cox. "We knew we were tackling a huge challenge with the goal of building a car that could complete an entire 8.5 mile lap of Le Mans on nothing but electric power. We have certainly discovered why nobody has tackled it previously. "We completed large sections of the circuit today on EV power and learned a great deal," Cox continued. "Today was about testing the systems and ensuring the transition from electric to internal combustion power was seamless. Testing at other venues is extremely valuable but there is no substitute to running here at Le Mans.

Carlos Ghosn's rise and fall — and dramatic flight — streams in August

It turned out that Carlos Ghosn was not the perfect CEO after all.  On the run for nearly five years and living in exile in Lebanon for part of that time, Ghosn’s story — he was the former global chief of Nissan and Renault — and his subsequent dramatic escape from Japan is the stuff that Â… well, documentaries are made of. On August 25, Wanted: The Escape of Carlos Ghosn, a series in four parts, will begin streaming on Apple TV+. This new screen story (there have been others previously) hones in on his rise to fame, his multiple arrests for financial misdeeds and his made-for-Hollywood escape from Japan. Ghost had contacted a former Green Beret and was hustled out of the country by private jet in December, 2019, hidden in a musical instrument box. originally designed to hold a trombone. Ghosn has lived in Lebanon, where he has citizenship, ever since. To this point Lebanon has refused requests to extradite him. The Apple TV+ documentary will cover all of this, with never-before-seen footage and interviews. Mike Taylor, the former Green Beret who helped Ghosn escape, will tell his side of the story alongside Ghosn and others. The film has been executive produced by James Gay-Rees and Paul Martin from Formula 1: Drive to Survive. GhosnÂ’s background puts perspective on the story. He worked for 18 years with Michelin North America, where he was ultimately appointed as chief executive in 1990. In 1996, he joined Renault, and played a pivotal role in the alliance formed between Renault and Nissan. In mid-2001, he was appointed as NissanÂ’s new chief executive, and by 2005 he was running both Nissan and Renault. But in 2018 he was arrested at the Tokyo International Airport on allegations of under-reporting his salary and misusing company assets. He was subsequently arrested three more times on similar charges. He was held in and out of Japanese prison through much of 2019 before he was released on bail that April, eight months before his escape. Ghosn recently filed a lawsuit against Nissan, seeking more than $1 billion from the company. He accuses the automaker and others of defamation and fabricating evidence. Related video: This content is hosted by a third party. To view it, please update your privacy preferences. Manage Settings.