Firms may cut prices on plug-in electric hybrids to escape new EU emissions fines
Carmakers are bracing for a hybrid electric car price war this year as they try to avoid steep EU fines for carbon dioxide emissions.
Related: 2020 set to be year of the electric car, say industry analysts
Continue reading...Japan hits back at former Nissan boss after fugitive attacks its controversial justice system
Japan has hit back at Carlos Ghosn after the former Nissan boss’s criticisms of the country’s justice system after his dramatic escape to Lebanon, as Beirut prosecutors issued a travel ban for the fugitive.
Masako Mori, Japan’s justice minister, on Thursday accused Ghosn of making “abstract, unclear or baseless assertions” about the Japanese criminal justice system, and said his flight was unjustified.
Continue reading...Carole Ghosn accused of perjury, as Nissan says it will pursue former chairman who fled to Lebanon
Prosecutors in Japan have issued an arrest warrant for the wife of Carlos Ghosn for alleged perjury, as Nissan vowed to pursue its former chairman over his “serious misconduct” while head of the carmaker.
Tokyo prosecutors’ special investigation squad said Carole Ghosn – a vocal supporter of her husband during his long detention in Japan – was suspected of making a false statement during testimony to the Tokyo district court last April, according to Kyodo news agency. Details of the allegation were not immediately available.
Continue reading...Border controls tightened as Japan investigates how ex-Nissan boss skipped bail
Reports have emerged about how the fugitive former Nissan boss Carlos Ghosn managed to jump bail in Japan, as the country’s justice minister said border controls would be bolstered after the audacious escape.
The 65-year-old executive skipped bail nearly a week ago, fleeing Japan where he had been awaiting trial on multiple counts of financial misconduct, which he denies.
Continue reading...Carlos Ghosn’s dramatic escape from Japan to Lebanon last week has raised many questions over how he pulled off such an audacious act, but his motives are not in doubt. With four months to go before his financial misconduct trial was due to begin, the net was closing in on the former auto executive, and he knew it.
Nissan’s one-time saviour had not been permitted to speak to his wife over Christmas, and was disturbed by news that Japanese prosecutors had questioned his son and daughter in the US in early December. For Ghosn, according to sources close to him, it amounted to an attempt to force him to confess.
Continue reading...Carmaker has compensated VW owners in US and Australia over emissions-rigging scandal and faces class action in UK
Volkswagen is in discussions over an out-of-court settlement with more than 400,000 German owners of vehicles that were affected by the carmaker’s “Dieselgate” emissions-rigging scandal.
Germany’s VZBV – an umbrella group of consumer rights organisations – said it had entered talks about a “pragmatic solution in the interests of customers” but stressed that talks were at a very early stage and would remain confidential.
Continue reading...Move follows tycoon’s dramatic flight to Beirut to escape corruption charges
Japanese authorities have issued an Interpol wanted notice for Carlos Ghosn, as the former Nissan and Renault chairman released a statement denying his wife or family were involved in his dramatic flight from corruption charges in Japan.
The international policing organisation’s “red notice” alerts forces around the world that a person is wanted, in this case by Japanese police.
Continue reading...Wife dismisses reports husband escaped inside an instrument case as world awaits full explanation from fugitive
The world will have to wait until next week for what could be the only definitive account of how Carlos Ghosn managed to leave Japan months before he was due to stand trial for alleged financial misconduct.
The former Nissan chairman who fled the country to Lebanon while out on bail, will speak to the media in Beirut next Wednesday, media reports said, in a public appearance that could provide answers to myriad questions swirling around his daring escape.
Continue reading...His ‘big adventure’ reportedly involved his wife, a Gregorian band and ex-special services
Carlos Ghosn reportedly fled house arrest in Japan in a musical instrument case, in an audacious Hollywood movie-style escape masterminded by his wife, Carole, with the assistance of a Gregorian music band and a team of ex-special forces officers.
The escape began when the band arrived at his home in Tokyo, where Ghosn has been held under house arrest and strict police surveillance, according to Lebanese TV news channel MTV. At the end of the performance, as the musicians packed up their instruments, Ghosn – whose height is stated at 1.7m, or just under 5ft 6in, in his Wikipedia entry – apparently slipped into one of the larger cases and was taken to a small local airport.
Continue reading...Ghosn, who had been banned from leaving Japan, flies to Lebanon and says he will no longer be held in a rigged system
Carlos Ghosn, who is awaiting trial on charges of financial misconduct, has left Japan and arrived in Lebanon to “escape injustice”.
The former Nissan chairman issued a statement on Tuesday morning in which he said he would “no longer be held hostage by a rigged Japanese justice system where guilt is presumed”.
Continue reading...Mercedes-Benz owner bids to slash €1bn from wage bill as industry switches towards electric vehicles
Mercedes-Benz owner Daimler has announced plans to cut at least 10,000 jobs worldwide in the latest sign of stress in the German automotive industry as it invests billions in electric cars.
Daimler, which also makes lorries, vans and buses, said in a statement on Friday it planned to cut “thousands of jobs” by the end of 2022, but later made it clear the toll would be higher.
Continue reading...Tesla chief executive Elon Musk said on Saturday there had been about 150,000 orders for the electric carmaker’s cybertruck, which was unveiled in Los Angeles on Thursday.
Related: Cybertruck: Tesla unveils new pickup truck but windows break during demo
Continue reading...Elon Musk has said he wants to build ‘supertruck with crazy torque’ as Ford and GM plan offerings of their own
Elon Musk has talked for years about building an electric pickup truck that would threaten Detroit’s automakers, and on Thursday he will finally take off the wrapping.
Tesla’s so-called “cybertruck” will debut at an evening event in Los Angeles.
In a tweet on Thursday, Musk referenced his longtime ambition to build “a Tesla supertruck with crazy torque, dynamic air suspension” that “corners like its on rails” (sic).
Continue reading...More Americans engaged in work stoppages last year than since 1986 – and the successful GM strike may encourage other union leaders, experts say
The recently ended General Motors strike was part of a surprisingly large recent wave of walkouts, and by many measures, the 49,000 strikers emerged so well from their 40-day showdown with the US auto giant that the results could help inspire more worker militancy and strikes, labor analysts and experts say.
“They did pretty well,” said Kristin Dziczek, vice-president of industry, labor and economics at the Center for Automotive Research, based in Ann Arbor, Michigan. “They got more money. They got a pathway to regular employment for temporary workers. They defended their healthcare” when GM was seeking to sharply increase the premiums the United Automobile Workers (UAW) members paid.
Continue reading...Carmakers fear disorderly exit would cripple the just-in-time supply chain, investment and lead to tariff barriers
The European car industry has warned of catastrophic effects of a no-deal Brexit, saying it would have a “seismic” impact on making cars in Europe.
In a rare joint statement, chiefs from 23 automotive business associations across Europe joined forces to caution against a brutal exit from the bloc by Britain, where auto giants BMW, Peugeot PSA and Japan’s Nissan have factories.
Continue reading...Emissions rose 20-30% in Paris when temperatures topped 30C, raising urgent questions as the climate gets hotter
Emissions from diesel cars – even newer and supposedly cleaner models – increase on hot days, a new study has found, raising questions over how cities suffering from air pollution can deal with urban heat islands and the climate crisis.
Research in Paris by The Real Urban Emissions (True) initiative found that diesel car emissions of nitrogen oxides (NOx) rose by 20% to 30% when temperatures topped 30C – a common event this summer.
Continue reading...German carmaker’s CEO offers to travel to London to deliver message to PM saying ‘listen to business’
The boss of BMW has urged Boris Johnson to respond to calls from business to find a compromise on Brexit – and offered to travel to the UK to deliver the message to the prime minister in person.
Speaking as the German carmaker reported falling profits due to its investment in electric vehicles, BMW chief executive Harald Krüger said it would be a “lose-lose” scenario if the UK leaves the EU without a deal.
Continue reading...Japanese motor giant refuses to say where cuts will fall as it seeks to revive flagging fortunes
Nissan said it would cut 12,500 jobs globally over the next three years as the Japanese carmaker tries to revive its business after profit was almost wiped out in the first quarter of its financial year.
The company, which employs about 8,000 people in the UK and 139,000 worldwide, did not disclose where the job cuts would fall. The cuts are bigger than expected after it emerged on Wednesday that at least 10,000 jobs would go.
Continue reading...Cuts would be twice as many as the carmaker announced in May and will increase fears of UK losses
The carmaker Nissan plans to cut more than 10,000 jobs around the world as part of efforts to turn itself around, Japanese media have reported.
Nissan announced in May it would cut 4,800 jobs from its global workforce of around 139,000 as it grapples with a fall in profits to a near-decade low amid “a difficult business environment”.
Continue reading...PSA Group’s decision is boost to British car industry and workers at Ellesmere Port plant
PSA Group said it will build its new Vauxhall Astra car at its Ellesmere Port plant but only on the condition the government secures a good Brexit deal.
The decision is a major boost for the embattled British car industry and the 1,100 employees at the plant, whose future had been thought to be dependent on winning the Astra contract.
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