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Updated Nissan Micra gets fresh look, more tech and 'New' name

A few months ago, Nissan gave the Micra (which is not for US consumption) a substantial styling update that included new front and rear fascias, and stuffed more technology into the interior, such as USB ports and auxiliary inputs for audio and a new media touchscreen. Though it's still based on the same fourth-generation architecture, Nissan now calls it the New Micra.
Overall the New Micra - also known as March in some markets - looks similar to but more taut than the vehicle that launched in late 2010, thanks to more angular headlights, a new bumper, a sculpted hood and a revised grille with the Nissan logo sitting inside a chrome V, which establishes a stronger link to Nissan's "corporate look." The rear end receives less-drastic changes, such as a new bumper, LED taillamps and a new infill panel at the bottom of the tailgate.
For all of the details on Nissan's five-door city car, take a look at the press release below, and be sure to check out our live gallery from Frankfurt.

Nissan, least profitable Japanese automaker in Q3, stays strong on EVs

Nissan had some not-so-good financial news to report today. Despite a 57-percent net income increase, Nissan was Japan's least-profitable carmaker for the third quarter of last year. A weak yen helped put the company's operating profit below the estimates of financial analysts. In a speech on the financial situation, Nissan corporate vice president Joji Tagawa said "These results, however, do not reflect the full potential of Nissan." Given our focus on expensive electric vehicles, among other things, we wondered how this might affect EVs. One of the financial analysts told Bloomberg that the news is a "crisis" at the company, but the official word is that things are steady as she goes on the EV front. In his speech, Tagawa reaffirmed the company's strong belief in plug-in vehicles, saying that "Nissan's EV strategy will accelerate with the launch in fiscal 2014 of the e-NV200, the second all-electric model available globally." That electric van has the potential "to transform emissions among commercial vehicles" and Nissan remains interested in initiatives such as EV carsharing in Japan and the continued deployment of charging infrastructure. The speech transcript is available below. In a statement to AutoblogGreen, Billy Hayes, Nissan's vice president and program director, said that, "Nissan considers zero emission vehicles to be the ultimate solution for realizing sustainable mobility in the future and is strongly committed to EV technologies. Nissan's investment in Leaf and EV technology is positive for the company's business results over the lifecycle, and accelerating sales of Leaf only help to build economies of scale and improve the business model for the technology further." FY13 3Q financial results Nissan Motor Co., Ltd. Joji Tagawa, Corporate Vice President Introduction For the nine-month period, Nissan has made solid progress to improve its business performance. The pro forma nine-month financial results, and particularly those of the third quarter, are up compared to the same period last year, despite intense competition and uncertain economic conditions. These results, however, do not reflect the full potential of Nissan. Looking ahead to the quarter ending March 31, 2014, we expect to continue to improve our business results and as such, we are maintaining our prior profit outlook for the fiscal year.

Japanese automakers will seriously subsidize hydrogen fuel stations

Fresh off the announcement of the EPA-rated fuel economy and range figures for the Toyota Mirai, three of Japan's major automakers are throwing their weight behind hydrogen on the other side of the Pacific. Toyota, Nissan, and Honda are detailing their partnership in Japan to subsidize the creation of an expanded FCV refueling infrastructure there in the coming years. The plan could provide a much-needed boost for goals that are already looking to miss their targets. The partnership, which is called the Joint Hydrogen Infrastructure Support Project, is subsidizing a third of the annual operating expenses up to a maximum of 11 million yen ($90,000) for any hydrogen refueling station that applies and is accepted into the program. For now, the automakers plan to keep this running through around 2020. Toyota senior managing officer Kiyotaka Ise tells Bloomberg the whole thing over that time is expected to cost 5 billion to 6 billion yen ($40.5 million to $49 million). In addition to the money, the companies are trying to raise awareness about the alternative fuel to build popularity. Japan has been pushing extremely hard to build the FCV market there for quite some time by subsidizing both the models and building refueling stations for them. By the 2020 Olympics, the country's goal is to have 6,000 fuel cell vehicles on the roads and possibly even 100,000 of them by 2025. The cars to fulfill these lofty hopes are just gaining steam, though. For example, the Mirai is already experiencing high demand, and Honda is set to bring its new challenger in 2016. This announcement says Nissan is aiming a potential entry for 2017, as well. According to Bloomberg, the fuel cell industry in Japan is forecasted to balloon from 400 million yen (3.3 million) in the current fiscal year to 100 billion ($813 million) by 2025. Toyota, Nissan, and Honda Agree on Details of Joint Support for Hydrogen Infrastructure Development Toyota Motor Corporation, Nissan Motor Co., Ltd., and Honda Motor Co., Ltd. have agreed on key details regarding a new joint support project for the development of hydrogen station infrastructure in Japan. In addition to partially covering the operating costs of hydrogen stations, the three automakers have also agreed to help infrastructure companies deliver the best possible customer service and create a convenient, hassle-free refueling network for owners of fuel cell vehicles (FCVs).