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Ghosn says French ambassador told him: 'Nissan is turning against you'

BEIRUT — Former Nissan chairman Carlos Ghosn said on Tuesday that the French ambassador had warned him shortly after his arrest that his own company was plotting against him. "Frankly, I was shocked by the arrest, and the first thing I asked is make sure Nissan knows so they can send me a lawyer," Ghosn told Reuters in an interview in Beirut. "And the second day, 24 hours from this, I received a visit from the French ambassador who told me: 'Nissan is turning against you'. And this is where I realized that the whole thing was a plot." Former Nissan CEO Hiroto Saikawa, who was forced to resign last year after admitting that he had received improper compensation, told a news conference shortly after Ghosn's arrest that Ghosn had been using corporate money for personal purposes and under-reporting his income for years. The arrest of Ghosn, widely respected for rescuing the carmaker from near-bankruptcy, has put Japan's criminal justice system under international scrutiny. Among the practices now under the spotlight are keeping suspects in detention for long periods and excluding defense lawyers from interrogations, which can last eight hours a day. "When he told me that 'two hours or three hours later, after your arrest, Saikawa went in a press conference and made his infamous statement where he said, you know, 'I am horrified, but what I'm learning...'' — so when he told me he made these statements, I said 'Oh my God this is a plot'."   Related: Yamaha warns not to climb into instrument cases after Ghosn arrest   Ghosn, 65, fled Japan last month while awaiting trial on charges of under-reporting earnings, breach of trust and misappropriation of company funds, all of which he denies. The one-time titan of the car industry said the alternative to fleeing would have been to spend the rest of his life languishing in Japan without a fair trial. Ghosn said he had escaped to his childhood home of Lebanon in order to clear his name. He noted that there were conflicting stories about his astonishing escape, but declined to say how he had managed to flee. Tokyo prosecutors said his allegations of a conspiracy were false and that he had failed to justify his acts. The 14-month saga has shaken the global auto industry and jeopardized the Renault-Nissan alliance, of which Ghosn was the mastermind. Japan's Ministry of Justice has said it will try to find a way to bring Ghosn back from Lebanon, even the countries have no extradition treaty.

Ghosn: Nissan, Renault going for 'mini alliance' with 'reduced scope'

TOKYO — Former Nissan chairman Carlos Ghosn said on Tuesday during a news conference at the Foreign CorrespondentsÂ’ Club of Japan in Tokyo that the Japanese automaker and Renault are trying to go for less cooperation between them with a deal to overhaul their long-standing alliance. "With the latest agreement, they're trying to go for a mini alliance with a very reduced scope of cooperation," Ghosn told reporters in Tokyo via video stream. Nissan and Renault are holding discussions about a final agreement to overhaul their alliance, after announcing in January that the deal will see Renault bring down its stake in Nissan to 15% from about 43% to put them on an equal level. Earlier this year, Ghosn filed a lawsuit against Nissan and a handful of individuals seeking $588 million in lost remuneration, and a further $500 million in moral damages. “Nissan will have to pay for what they did to me and my family,” Ghosn said. “Nissan created a lot of damage Â… damage that can not be repaired.” “What IÂ’m looking for is not revenge,” Ghosn added. “I just want to make sure that all the criminals and the plotters cannot sleep quietly in their beds after what they have committed.” Material from Reuters was used in this report. Related video: This content is hosted by a third party. To view it, please update your privacy preferences. Manage Settings.

Survey says $25k barrier is a problem for EVs

The majority of consumers are more or less priced out of the market.
Electric cars are gaining popularity with the general public, but are they still too expensive? According to a survey 1,084 consumers by Navigant Research, a consulting firm located in Boulder, CO, 71 percent want their next car to cost under $25,000, while 41 percent won't go a cent above $20K. Looks like people are even thriftier than we'd originally thought.