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Norway about to run out of EV incentives; plan to be reviewed

As electric vehicle advocates in Norway may ready to celebrate, executives over at Tesla Motors and Nissan may be preparing for a healthy bawl. That's because Norway, whose financial support of plug-in vehicle use have pushed the country to the forefront of plug-in vehicle adoption, is about to reach its government-imposed threshold for electric vehicle and plug-in vehicle incentives, Hybrid Cars says. Two years early, in fact. Norway's perks for EVs and PHEVs include free access to bus lanes, highway tolls, ferries and parking, not to mention a big tax rebate. As a result, the country is less than 250 units away from hitting its 50,000-vehicle limit for those perks, which were initially estimated to expire in 2017. In fact, last month, more than 25 percent of the four new cars sold in Norway were plug-in vehicles. The government is now saying it will review the incentives and put forward a new plan in the next budget, which is due in May. Late last year, Nissan put out a video saying that electric vehicles had about a 15-percent new-vehicle market share in Norway, and that the Japanese automaker had sold more than 15,000 all-electric Leaf vehicles in the country since starting sales there in 2011. Last spring, The Wall Street Journal reported that the Tesla Model S broke Norway's all-time monthly sales record for a single model in March 2014, with almost 1,500 Model S vehicles sold. This is for a country whose population is less than that of Colorado. Whether those days will soon be gone remains in question. Advocates will push for some sort of extension on the perks, but opponents in government say the incentives have cost the country as much as $500 million a year in tax revenue. News Source: Hybrid CarsImage Credit: Elbilforeningen/Flickr Government/Legal Green Nissan Tesla Electric incentives government incentives

Renault will develop and build the next-generation Nissan Micra

PARIS — French carmaker Renault will develop and assemble the next generation of partner NissanÂ’s Micra models, a senior executive at the Japanese firm said, as the two companies try to reboot their alliance with tighter cooperation in production. Ashwani Gupta, NissanÂ’s chief operating officer, said in an interview with FranceÂ’s Le Monde newspaper published on Monday that the Micra plan was an example of their “leader-follower” strategy, with one firm taking the lead on certain car types. Nissan Micra models are already assembled at RenaultÂ’s Flins factory in France, although that site is set to be turned over to recycling activities around 2024, when the life cycle of the car ranges made there expires. “For the next generation of Micra, we will follow Renault, and we will ask Renault to develop and make the future Micra for us,” Gupta said. Both struggling financially, Renault and Nissan have cleared the decks of old managers and outlined joint cost-saving plans as they try to move on from a scandal surrounding former alliance boss Carlos Ghosn. Ghosn, who fled detention in Japan and is now in Lebanon, denies financial misconduct charges against him.

Renault, Nissan officially reboot their auto alliance for post-Ghosn era

Nissan CEO Makoto Uchida looks on as Renault CEO Luca De Meo and Mitsubishi CEO Takao Kato shake hands during a news conference to unveil new agreement between Nissan and Renault on Monday in London.   LONDON — Automakers Renault and Nissan on Monday formalized their reboot of a relationship that had grown rocky, culminating in the spectacular fall of top executive Carlos Ghosn, who had led successful turnarounds at both companies before his arrest and daring escape. The boards of both companies approved equalizing the stake each automaker holds in the other to 15%, bringing a better balance in the French-Japanese alliance, which also includes smaller Japanese carmaker Mitsubishi Motors Corp. The uneven shareholdings had been viewed at times as a source of conflict. Until now, Renault Group of France owned 43.4% of Nissan Motor Co., while the Japanese automaker owned 15% of Renault. “We have been waiting a long time for this moment,” Renault board Chairman Jean Dominique Senard said at a news conference in London, calling it a “new era." Nissan intends to invest up to 15% in Ampere, RenaultÂ’s electric vehicle and software entity in Europe that Mitsubishi also will consider investing in. The automakers said they will collaborate in markets worldwide, including Latin America, Europe and India. The moves come at a time when the extremely competitive auto industry is undergoing a major shift toward electric vehicles and other environmentally friendly models. The long speculated changes to the carmaker alliance were announced a week ago. Shares equivalent to a 28.4% stake will be transferred to a French trust, according to the companies. Renault, whose top shareholder is the French government, and Nissan agreed on an orderly sale of that stake, although there will be no deadline. Nissan Chief Executive Makoto Uchida vowed to take the alliance to “the next level of transformation” to adapt to a new era. “This is not a choice but a need,” he said. In theory, partnerships are a good way for automakers to cut costs by sharing parts, production and technology, especially when the industry is going through such dramatic change with EVs. That also means that, once formed, ending an alliance can be difficult because the companiesÂ’ development, manufacturing and products get so closely tied together. Still, partnerships can stumble because of the different corporate cultures of the automakers, especially when it involves a meeting of the West and East.