2007 Nissan Pathfinder Se - 4wd - 3rd Row Seat - Clean Carfax - All Books & Keys on 2040-cars

Auto blog

Renault planning a Tata Nano rival. Again.

Four years ago, Renault confirmed that it would partner with India's Bajaj Auto to develop a rival to the Tata Nano. At the time, as everyone waited for the Tata Nano to arrive, you could have used a Richter scale to measure the tremors the executive suites of any automaker with an interest in the low end of emerging markets. Then the Nano, still the cheapest car in the world, didn't sell so well - at the end of last year its sales were just six percent of its most conservative projections - and everyone seemed content to let Tata spend the money to figure out if there really was a market for the cheapest car in the world.
Renault believes there is, kind of. Automotive News Europe reports that it will partner with Nissan to build two low-priced cars for emerging markets, one for €3,000 ($3,888 U.S.) and another for €5,000 ($6,400 U.S.). The price of the least expensive offering is nearly $1,400 more than a Nano, which costs $2,500, and that can't be considered a small sum in comparison. But one of the hindsight knocks on the Nano has been that even in emerging markets buyers don't want a car whose biggest lure is that it is cheap; they'd rather give their aspirations a bit more of a workout.
Renault's offerings are scheduled to hit the non-Western market in late 2014, which is coincidentally the same year that will see the return of the budget-minded and emerging-market-specific Datsun nameplate. They'll be built in Renault facilities in Chennai, India, with no mention made of Bajaj this time around.

Renault-Nissan alliance to start autonomous EV testing

The Renault-Nissan alliance is joining the self-driving electric-vehicle party. The French-Japanese automaking collaboration, which has been selling electric vehicles to the masses since introducing the Nissan Leaf in 2010, said Monday that it will work with transportation-technology consultant Transdev on developing a fleet of self-driving EVs for testing purposes. The model of choice, though, won't be the Leaf, but instead will be the Renault Zoe. Details aren't abundant, but the group does say it will perform the field testing in the Paris area. Transdev's pedigree includes operating what it says is the world's first commercial driverless service at France's EDF campus. The company, which is majority-owned by Caisse des Depots, is no small potatoes, generating about $7 billion in revenue in 2015. Take a look at the alliance's statement here. The alliance has already been working with Microsoft on driving-technology advancements and has teamed up with Japan-based DeNA to hatch a driverless-vehicle initiative for commercial services. And in January, Nissan said its ProPilot features, which include increased self-driving capabilities, would be added to its Leaf EV "in the near future." Of course, other automakers have already jumped into the self-driving EV game. California-based EV maker Tesla has long been pushing its vehicle technology toward autonomy, and General Motors said in December that it would start field testing driverless Chevrolet Bolt EVs sometime this year. In the meantime, the Alliance is gearing up a changeover in leadership, as Carlos Ghosn said last week that he was stepping down as Nissan's CEO on April 1. Ghosn, long a champion of electric-vehicle technology, will be succeeded by Nissan co-CEO Hiroto Saikawa. Related Video: Featured Gallery Renault Zoe ZE 40 Yttrium Grey View 27 Photos News Source: Renault-Nissan Alliance Green Nissan Renault Autonomous Vehicles Electric alliance zoe

Renault splits into 5 businesses in drive to boost profit

  PARIS — French car maker Renault announced a major overhaul that will see it separate its activities in five businesses, deepen ties with China's Geely and spin off its electric vehicles unit through a stock market listing next year. At a long-awaited investor presentation on Tuesday, Renault said it targeted operating margins of 8% for 2025 and rising to more than 10% in 2030, from 5% expected this year. It also plans to reinstate dividends from 2023 after a three-year hiatus, and generate more than 2 billion euros of cash annually between 2023-25, growing to more than 3 billion euros in the following five years. An early mover in the electric car race, Renault has fallen behind newer, more agile rivals like Tesla. After needing emergency state cash during the COVID pandemic, the group is looking to extend on a turnaround following losses in 2019 and 2020, and increase the valuation of its different parts. But big question marks remain on its strained relationship with long-standing Japanese partner Nissan, as Renault looks for other outside investors for each of its divisions. The main plank of the car maker's strategy is separating its combustion engine business — which will partner with Geely in a 50-50 joint venture, also announced on Tuesday — from its electric vehicle unit, to be listed in the second half of next year. Nissan is expected to take a stake in the EV venture, codenamed "Ampere," alongside other investors, though Renault will keep a majority stake. Talks with Nissan have been dragging on, amid Japanese reservations about sharing technology with others, including a Chinese rival like Geely, sources have told Reuters. Shares in Renault fell 2% by 1254 GMT after earlier dipping more than 4% as it gave little detail on the state of play of the discussions with Nissan on the future of their partnership. Renault CEO Luca De Meo said the group wanted to give the alliance a strong future and a "new chance." But he also said that — as in a marriage — "it is important for us to have our own hobbies and our own life." The companies had initially set a Nov. 15 target to reach a deal, but no announcement is now expected on that date, according to people familiar with the talks. Aside from the Ampere EV unit and the combustion engine division, Renault will have an additional three businesses — the Alpine sports-car brand, financial services and new mobility and recycling activities.