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Nissan's Carlos Ghosn reportedly arrested, to be fired for financial misconduct

TOKYO — Nissan Motor Co said it was ousting Chairman Carlos Ghosn for alleged financial misconduct and Japanese media reported he been arrested, a shocking fate for a leader hailed for rescuing the company from close to bankruptcy. The Japanese automaker said Ghosn's alleged misconduct included personal use of company money and under-reporting how much he had been paid. Ghosn is also chairman and chief executive of Nissan's French partner Renault and one of the best-known figures in the global car industry, and his departure would raise question about the future of the alliance. Nissan said it launched an months-long investigation after a whistleblower tipped it off to wrongdoing by Ghosn and Representative Director Greg Kelly. "The investigation showed that over many years both Ghosn and Kelly have been reporting compensation amounts in the Tokyo Stock Exchange securities report that were less than the actual amount, in order to reduce the disclosed amount of Carlos Ghosn's compensation," Nissan said in a statement. It said CEO Hiroto Saikawa would propose that the Nissan board remove Ghosn and Kelly. Neither Ghosn nor Kelly could be reached for comment. Renault shares tumbled 11 percent in Paris to be among the worst performing stocks in Europe. Nissan's German-listed securities plunged 10 percent. French President Emmanuel Macron said the government, the French carmaker's top shareholder, will be vigilant about Renault and its alliance with Nissan. Cost cutter Known as "Le Cost Killer," Ghosn is credited for reviving the Japanese automaker and has remained popular despite the massive job cuts that he brought and recent controversy over his lucrative pay package. Japanese media reported that Ghosn had reported around 10 billion yen worth of compensation as around 5 billion yen. Ousting Ghosn, 64, is bound to raise questions about an alliance that he personally shaped and had pledged to consolidate with a deeper tie-up, before eventually stepping back from its operational leadership. "The initial share price reaction shows how pivotal he is," Citi analyst Raghav Gupta-Chaudhary said on Monday. The current alliance structure has long undervalued Nissan shares held indirectly by Renault investors, he added. "Ghosn is viewed as critical for value unlock." Renault owns 43.4 percent of Nissan, while Nissan owns 15 percent of Renault, with no voting rights in a partnership that began in 1999.

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.

Chevy Volt outsells Nissan Leaf for first time since October 2013

It's been a rough summer so far for both the Chevy Volt and the Nissan Leaf, the first two plug-in vehicles from major automakers that ushered in the modern plug-in era. In June 2015, sales were down from their 2014 levels. The Leaf was down 11.6 percent and the Volt was down 31.1 percent. For July 2015, things didn't get much better. July 2015's Volt sales of 1,313 were down 35 percent from July 2014 and are down 34.8 percent for the year-to-date. Nissan, on the other hand moved only 1,174 Leafs last month, down 61.1 percent. So far this year, Leaf sales are down 30.2 percent. What's interesting with this steep decline in Leaf sales is that allowed the Volt to outsell the Leaf for the first time since October 2013. Back then, the Volt sold 2,022 compared to the Leaf's 2,002 units. So far, Nissan has sold 83,312 Leafs in the US since the EV went on sale in late 2010. Chevy has sold 80,292 Volts. Even though Tesla doesn't release monthly sales figures, there's a good chance that the pricey Model S was once again the best-selling EV in the US in July, as it was in the first three months of 2015. At that time, Tesla delivered an average of just under 2,000 Model S EVs a month. We might get some insight into more recent numbers during the quarterly investor call on Wednesday. As we've said before, the low sales for the aging plug-ins can be explained by the fact that both the Leaf and the Volt are due for upgrades. The second-gen Volt is coming in a few months. Nissan is being cagey about when the updated Leaf will arrive, but given these latest sales figures, we wouldn't be surprised if the undisclosed timetable gets move up somehow. Related Video: The video meant to be presented here is no longer available. Sorry for the inconvenience.