Nissan Motor Co. Ltd. (TYO:7201) announced on August 8 that it will sell its electric battery operations and production facilities to GSR Capital, a Chinese private investment fund. Nissan and GSR entered into the share transfer agreement that same day, and will complete the relevant proceedings by the end of December. The agreement covers Nissan’s...
Nissan
Nissan Makes Full-Fledged Effort to Increase EV Sales in China
Nissan Motor Co. Ltd. (TYO:7201) has announced a full-fledged effort to increase its sales of electric vehicles (EVs) in China, developing new SUV and sedan EVs exclusively for the Chinese market. In addition to introducing these new EV models as Nissan brands in 2018, the company will also add local Chinese brand, Venucia, to its...
New Design Head at Nissan Talks Aesthetics, Strategies
In an interview with Japan Automotive Daily on July 5, the senior vice president for global design at Nissan Motor Co. Ltd. (TYO:7201), Alfonso Albaisa, said that Nissan aims to create a brand that is fresh, sharp and cool while incorporating human qualities and Japanese aesthetics. He said that as packages for electric vehicles (EVs)...
Nissan Eyes Selling 1M Cars More in China, Plans to Build New Factory
Nissan Motor Co. Ltd. (TYO:7201) will increase its automobile sales target in China by at least 1 million units under the company’s next medium-term business plan, running through March 31, 2023. In line with this, the company plans to build what would be its ninth Chinese plant. Nissan is aiming to increase its global market...
Nissan Aims for $6B Value From Three-Company Alliance
Nissan Motor Co. Ltd. (TYO:7201) Chairman Carlos Ghosn announced at the company’s June 27 ordinary general meeting of shareholders that, with the addition of Mitsubishi Motors Corp. (TYO:7211) to the Alliance between Nissan and Renault SA, the three companies will share 70 percent of their platforms by 2020. Ghosn said that the Alliance will allow...
Nissan, Mitsubishi Motors Team up for Financial Services Partnership
Nissan Motor Co. Ltd. (TYO:7201) and Mitsubishi Motors Corp. (TYO:7211) announced on June 5 that they are launching a sales finance operation under the Mitsubishi brand across Australia, New Zealand and Canada. Nissan’s local financing arms will develop and provide wholesale and retail financing services. The new newly established services are directed toward retail customers,...
New Nissan Leaf Will Come With Autonomous Driving System
Nissan Motor Co. Ltd. (TYO:7201) Executive Vice President Daniele Schillaci said in an interview on May 24 attended by Japan Automotive Daily that the new Nissan Leaf will come equipped with ProPilot self-driving technology. The electric car is slated for launch in the second half of this year, said Schillaci, who was appointed chairman of...
Ghosn Expresses Confidence in New Mitsubishi MPV
Mitsubishi Motors Corp. (TYO:7211) Chairman Carlos Ghosn visited the company’s Okazaki Plant in Aichi Prefecture on May 19 to inspect the plant’s production facility and technology center. Ghosn pointed to these facilities as being where the future of Mitsubishi Motors gets created. And he offered further high praise, adding that they are both important locations...
Nissan Targets 16.5 Trillion Yen in Sales Under New Business Plan
Nissan Motor Co. Ltd. (TYO:7201) announced on May 11 its new medium-term business plan, which is to run through to fiscal 2022. Based around steady growth and development, the plan seeks in even a harsh economic climate to maintain the automaker’s operating profit margin at 8 percent. While doing so, the company aims to increase...
Nissan Targets Sixfold Increase in Global Nismo Sales
Nissan Motor Co. Ltd. (TYO:7201) announced on April 25 plans to increase global sales of the automaker’s high-performance sports line of Nismo road cars. Nissan is looking by the early 2020s to increase sales up into an sphere of 100,000 units annually, which would represent a sixfold increase. The company will add new sales regions...
Nissan Looks to Bring Wireless EV Charging Into Practical Use by 2020
Nissan Motor Co. Ltd. (TYO:7201) is aiming to commercialize the non-contact power transfer (wireless charging) of its electronic vehicles (EVs) by 2020. It is alleged that EV charging would be made easier, and EVs made more convenient, by implementing a system that would allow the vehicles to charge while parked at designated locations without the...
Japanese Automakers Show Strong Sales Performance in US, China for 2016
Five Japanese automakers in fiscal 2016 enjoyed year-on-year growth in sales in China, with four of these companies doing so also in the U.S., according to sales volume data collated by Japan Automotive Daily. In China, Toyota Motor Corp. (TYO:7203), Nissan Motor Co. Ltd. (TYO:7201), Honda Motor Co. Ltd. (TYO:7267) and Mazda Motor Corp. (TYO:7261)...
Nissan Electric Cars to Power Kyushu Eco-Island Project
Nissan Motor Co. Ltd. (TYO:7201), Sumitomo Corp. (TYO:8053) and Satsumasendai City, Kagoshima Prefecture, announced on April 12 that their joint project, “Mirai-no-shima” (literally meaning “Island of the Future”) is under way. Based in the Koshikishima Islands’ Kami-Koshikishima Island, some 30 kilometers to the west of the Satsuma Peninsula, the project has now received 40 Nissan...
Prius Claims Back Top Spot in New Car Sales Rankings
The Toyota Prius was the best-selling new car in Japan in fiscal 2016. It is the first time in five years that the Prius has topped the domestic new car sales rankings, coming partly due to a market-expanding strong first-half performance. The Honda N-Box came in second for the second year in a row, followed...
Japan Tops 5 Million New Car Sales in 2016 – First Time in Two Years
New car sales in Japan rose 2.8 percent year-on-year for fiscal year 2016, increasing to 5,077,904 units. Including both full-size and kei-class light automobiles, it marks the first time in two years that sales have surpassed 5 million units. After weak sales early on due to the Kumamoto earthquakes and kei-class light automobile-related fuel efficiency...
Toyota Boshoku and Tachi-S to Enter Business Partnership
Toyota Boshoku Corp. (TYO:3116) and Tachi-S Co. Ltd. (TYO:7239) recently announced that they have come to terms for forming a business partnership for automotive seat operations. With Toyota Boshoku a Toyota Group parts supplier, and Tachi-S primarily handling parts for Nissan Motor Co. Ltd’s (TYO:7201) automobiles, the two companies will be crossing the boundaries of...
METI Drafts Guidelines for Virtual Simulation Practices in Automobile Development
The Ministry of Economy, Trade and Industry (METI) announced on March 31 that it has drafted a policy to promote model-based development (MBD) for the virtual simulation of automobile development and performance assessments. METI released its guidelines for defining the intermodal interfaces used, as well as the vehicle performance simulation model that forms a common...
Nissan’s Ghosn Sees Breakthrough for Autonomous Driving by 2022
Nissan Motor Co. Ltd. (TYO:7201) President and CEO Carlos Ghosn gave a speech on March 30 about autonomous driving technology at Slush Tokyo, a startup and technology event held at Tokyo Big Sight. Talking about Nissan’s efforts in this area, Ghosn said that the company will achieve autonomous driving technology for multiple-lane use on highways...
Major Passenger Automakers Show Strong Production and Export Figures for February
Eight Japanese passenger car manufacturers on March 29 announced their respective output and export figures for February 2017. All the companies posted higher numbers for overseas production over the previous year thanks to strong performance in North America, China and elsewhere in Asia, as well as other major markets. Six of the companies set new...
Nissan Indonesia Taps Eiichi Koito of Mitsubishi Motors as New President Director
Nissan Motor Co. Ltd. (TYO:7201) announced on March 24 that Eiichi Koito from Mitsubishi Motors Corp. (TYO:7211) will become the new president director of PT Nissan Motor Indonesia, effective April 1. Ever since acquiring a controlling stake in Mitsubishi Motors, Nissan has dispatched several corporate officers to Mitsubishi Motors. However, Koito’s appointment as president director...
METI Holds Test Ride Event for Driving Safety Support Systems of Eight Japanese Automakers
The Ministry of Economy, Trade and Industry (METI) on March 22 held in-house test drives of vehicles featuring driving safety support systems (DSSS), something that the Japanese government is working to promulgate. Eight passenger car manufacturers provided vehicles equipped with automatic braking and other features, with METI parliamentary vice-ministers and members of the press trying...
Mitsubishi Motors Moves to Accelerate Personnel Exchanges With Nissan
Mitsubishi Motors Corp. (TYO:7211) will be stepping up personnel exchanges with Nissan Motor Co. Ltd. (TYO:7201). Starting in April, each automaker will send around 10 people from their respective development, purchasing, production and sales divisions to the corresponding operations of the other company. Now in line with the progress of their alliance, the two companies...
Nissan and Renault Test Driverless Operating Systems in Paris
Nissan Motor Co. Ltd. (TYO:7201) and Renault announced on Feb. 27 an agreement to jointly develop operating systems for driverless vehicles with French-based Transdev, Europe’s largest consultant in the field of managing public transport institutions. The first step will be a field test of Renault’s Zoe electric vehicle (EV) in Paris. The companies will jointly...
Ghosn Steps Down as Nissan President and CEO, Remains as Chairman
Nissan Motors Co. Ltd. (TYO:7201) announced on Feb. 23 that Co-Chief Executive Officer Hiroto Saikawa will become its new president and CEO as of April 1. Current president and CEO Carlos Ghosn will stay on as the chairman of the board of directors with representation rights. The change proposed by Ghosn was decided in the...
Nissan to Provide Home Delivery of Note e-Power for Test-Drive Through Amazon
Nissan Motor Co. Ltd. (TYO:7201) announced on Feb. 17 that it is starting a home delivery service for its Note e-Power test-drive vehicles through Amazon.com Inc. The service is targeted at Amazon Prime members, with a test-drive vehicle delivered within as little as one hour for an immediate 30-minute test-drive. The service will be offered...
Nissan to Start Production of Sunny in Myanmar
Nissan Motor Co. Ltd. (TYO:7201) announced on Jan. 18 that it will commence semi-knocked down (SDK) production of its compact sedan, the Sunny, in Myanmar with local partner Tan Chong Motor (Myanmar) Co. Ltd., a subsidiary of the Malaysia-based Tan Chong Group. Initial production of the Sunny will take place at Tan Chong Motor’s existing...
Nissan, Honda Produce Record Sales in Japan, US and China in 2016
Car sales of eight passenger car manufacturers in Japan, the U.S. and China indicate Nissan Motor Co. Ltd. (TYO:7201) and Honda Motor Co. Ltd. (TYO:7267) had record sales in the U.S. and China in 2016. Both companies’ strong results are attributed to the sales growth in SUVs and new models. In China, Toyota Motor Corp....
Toyota Prius Tops Domestic New Car Sales in 2016 for First Time in Four Years
Toyota Motor Corp.’s (TYO:7203) Prius took top spot in 2016 for domestic new vehicle sales, including those of kei-class light automobiles. It marks the first time in four years that the Prius has topped the rankings. Following a complete overhaul at the end of 2015, the Prius kept the lead from January to August to...
Four Japanese Automakers Set Record November High for Global Sales
Toyota Motor Corp. (TYO:7203), Nissan Motor Co. Ltd. (TYO:7201), Suzuki Motor Corp. (TYO:7269) and Mazda Motor Corp. (TYO:7261) hit record-high worldwide sales for the month of November 2016. Excluding Honda Motor Co. Ltd. (TYO:7267) and Fuji Heavy Industries Ltd. (TYO:7270), it made for new high-water marks for four out of Japan’s six passenger vehicle manufacturers....
Renault–Nissan Alliance, Microsoft to Accelerate Joint Technological Development
The Renault–Nissan Alliance announced that it will accelerate joint development with Microsoft Corp. of next-generation technology for the connected vehicle segment. In anticipation of installation in autonomous cars, Cortana voice control technology from Microsoft is being adapted for in-vehicle applications. Renault–Nissan Alliance Senior Vice President Ogi Redzic laid out the company’s direction going forward to...
