2013 Nissan Altima Sv Sedan 4-door 2.5l on 2040-cars

Auto blog

Nissan and Renault shelve merger plans, will repair their alliance

Renault and Nissan have shelved plans to push towards the full merger former leader Carlos Ghosn craved and will instead fix their troubled alliance to try to recover from the coronavirus pandemic, five senior sources told Reuters. Nissan has long resisted Renault's proposals for a full-blown merger as executives felt the French carmaker was not paying its fair share for the engineering work it did in Japan, sowing discord that some feared could wreck the partnership. Now, with carmakers around the world reeling from the pandemic, the partners are planning to overhaul an alliance that largely failed to convert its global scale into a competitive advantage beyond the joint procurement of parts. Both struggling carmakers are set to announce mid-term restructuring plans this week that will serve as a peace treaty designed to resolve the long-standing tensions, five people familiar with the overhaul told Reuters. "After the rain, the earth hardens," said one senior Nissan source, citing a popular Japanese proverb that means relationships become stronger after a period of strife. All five sources within the alliance, which also includes Mitsubishi, declined to be named because they are not authorized to speak with media. Nissan and Renault are each planning substantial restructuring and cost cuts that could affect tens of thousands of jobs, with the Japanese company to announce its measures on May 28 and its French partner likely to follow the next day. Before that, Mitsubishi, Nissan and Renault are holding a joint news conference on May 27 during which they are expected to outline the philosophy behind their new "leader-follower" approach to the alliance. The sources said the companies were unlikely to disclose many details at the events this week of how the new approach will be used to share costs as the companies were still working on specific projects. However, the crisis at both carmakers has accelerated efforts to resolve the disagreements that have stymied collaboration and cost-sharing in technology and product development for five years, the sources said. Mitsubishi, Nissan and Renault all declined to comment officially about alliance plans. 'Leader-follower' The alliance has steadily ramped up output over the years, delivering over 10 million vehicles for the first time in 2017, the first full year after Mitsubishi joined the partnership.

Fisker stock trades halted as talks with Nissan collapse

Fisker's talks with a large automaker for a potential deal have collapsed, it said on Monday amid growing uncertainty for the cash-strapped startup that last week paused electric-vehicle production.  Trading in the shares of the company, which did not name the automaker with which it was in talks, has been halted pending an announcement.  Fisker also said it will not be able to meet a closing condition related to its attempt to raise up to $150 million in funding by selling convertible notes after missing an interest payment.  Separately, Fisker said it would ask investors to vote on a proposal for a reverse stock split at a shareholder meeting on April 24, as it looks to maintain compliance with the Nasdaq's listing norms.  Reuters had reported earlier this month that Nissan was in advanced talks to invest in the company, however, earlier in the day, the Japanese automaker held an event in which it announced a long-term business plan, including its EV strategy, and said it was looking for partners in the United States.  Raising funds has been hard for loss-making electric vehicle startups, which have little in way of revenue as they struggle to ramp up production and deliver to customers, as the companies battle stiff competition and a tough economy.  The EV startup's shares have cratered this year, losing more than 90% of their value, after it flagged going concern risk in February and paused investments in future projects until it secured a partnership with an automaker.  Fisker pivoted to a dealer-partner model earlier this year, after it delivered less than half of the vehicles it made in 2023 due to logistics issues.    Earnings/Financials Fisker Nissan

Five automakers now being investigated by NHTSA for airbag woes

It appears that Toyota's renotification to owners of recalled vehicles from last year is just the tip of the iceberg for what could potentially be a much larger industry-wide recall. The National Highway Traffic Safety Administration is opening a preliminary evaluation investigation into roughly 1.1 million vehicles from Chrysler, Honda, Mazda, Nissan, Toyota and parts supplier Takata regarding faulty airbag inflators in several models.
NHTSA has received six reports - three directly, two from Takata and one from Toyota - of vehicles with ruptured airbag inflators from 2002-2006, which resulted in three injuries. So far, all six incidents have occurred in high humidity areas like Florida and Puerto Rico. According to Toyota's latest recall announcement, the inflators may have an improper propellant that could cause it to rupture in a crash and the bag to deploy abnormally.
This new investigation follows a previous recall from April 2013 of about 3.4 million vehicles worldwide for the airbag inflators from Takata. As Autoblog reported, Toyota jumpstarted the new situation when it found that the original list of serial numbers for the faulty part was incomplete and discovered more cars in need of replacement. Honda and Nissan told us that they were investigating whether further models would need called in again as well. Mazda told Autoblog: "Regarding the current Takata situation, we're working closely with NHTSA and investigating the situation, but nothing else to report at this time." Chrysler Group responded to us with the statement: "Chrysler Group engineers are conducting the appropriate analysis. The Company will cooperate fully with the National Highway Traffic Administration."