Nissan corporate news

I should have specified the SL+ in my comments above.

I know that other models start much lower, but the smaller battery is of zero interest to me, and I tend to discount its very existence.

I'll edit the original post.

LeftieBiker said:

I think that an SL+ (or loaded SV+) for $35k is a good deal, and an S+ for under $30k is competitive. Asking for big price cuts below that as a matter of future policy doesn't seem reasonable to me. They can keep the S40 and SV40 for well under $30k to compete with commuter cars. The Leaf doesn't generally compete directly with the Model 3 because of the big difference in comfort and performance - they are apples and oranges when it comes to real world car buying/leasing decisions.

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Agree. I get frustrated by the constant comparisons of the SL+ to the Model 3 based on MSRP alone - it's ludicrous.

The Leaf is not pretending to be a Model 3, and is not priced anywhere near it after incentives either.

frontrangeleaf said:

I should have specified the SL+ in my comments above.

I know that other models start much lower, but the smaller battery is of zero interest to me, and I tend to discount its very existence.

I'll edit the original post.

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I see. When I suddenly ended up in the market for a new EV (due to finding out about heavily discounted Bolts), the Leaf Plus wasn't shipping in the US yet, but it was unknown when other than Spring (or something like that) of that year. I even saw one on the show floor of CES in early Jan 2019 but not for sale in the US yet.

I've been driving pure EVs as my primary car since end of July 2013, but am not and old-timer compared to folks who drove cars like the https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/General_Motors_EV1 that apparently began shipping in late 1996, EV conversions or Comuta-cars (https://www.greencarreports.com/news/1075678_ebay-watch-1980-comuta-car--retro-urban-electric-car).

https://www.reuters.com/article/us-autos-nissan-restructure-exclusive/exclusive-nissan-to-retrench-further-in-new-plan-to-focus-on-u-s-japan-china-idUSKBN22G0XD

May 4, 2020 / 2:14 AM / 2 days ago
Exclusive: Nissan to retrench further in new plan to focus on U.S., Japan, China
...
(Reuters) - Nissan Motor Co Ltd (7201.T) will pull back from Europe and elsewhere to focus on the United States, China and Japan under a plan that represents a new strategic direction for the embattled carmaker, people with direct knowledge of the plan told Reuters.

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cwerdna said:

https://www.reuters.com/article/us-autos-nissan-restructure-exclusive/exclusive-nissan-to-retrench-further-in-new-plan-to-focus-on-u-s-japan-china-idUSKBN22G0XD

May 4, 2020 / 2:14 AM / 2 days ago
Exclusive: Nissan to retrench further in new plan to focus on U.S., Japan, China
...
(Reuters) - Nissan Motor Co Ltd (7201.T) will pull back from Europe and elsewhere to focus on the United States, China and Japan under a plan that represents a new strategic direction for the embattled carmaker, people with direct knowledge of the plan told Reuters.

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Hopefully it's a push for more electrification! Everyone I've spoken to about Nissan ICEs hate them for one reason or another...

I'm inclined to think that it's closer to the opposite: by leaving pro-EV Europe and focusing more on the anti-EV US, they are more likely to either cut back on EV development or to end it. I think we will see the Ariya as a sport-luxury EV, and see the Leaf continued in its present form, and that's it.

^^^
I tend to agree. Ghosn and a few other former execs seemed to be the biggest EV cheerleaders at Nissan. They're all gone. It doesn't seem like Nissan execs regularly prominent in the press have been able to match that ever since Ghosn got arrested.

I can't recall Saikawa giving much of an indication of being pro-EV. Now, he's been replaced by Uchida and it seems to be the same.

And, now we have the COVID-19 crisis which has got to be bad news for all automakers.

The real EV-killing scenario (and one that I expect to come true) is the end of EV subsidies, driven by the economic crash caused by the pandemic. Add to that the likely rollback of at least some emission standards, and compliance EV manufacturers will drop out of the EV market entirely. Nissan will probably, as I said, just freeze EV production and development where it is, releasing the Ariya as a luxury EV and extending Leaf production as-is until it stops selling. Toyota will stop pretending to advance toward offering EVs and will stick with hybrids. Polestar and other EV sub-brands will either become limited models back within the original company or will be dissolved. Tesla? If they don't finally start to act like a company that needs to make a profit, and do it quickly, they will go bankrupt.

Very hard to say what the ultimate new normal will become. Climate change isn't going to slow down much, despite the recent blip in emissions output. Wildfire season + corona virus sounds to me like a particularly bad stew, for example. There will be more and more crisis, that much is certain.

The biggest political and economic fight of our times is just getting started. The various entrenched interests won't relax their grip without a battle, but circumstances may not leave them much choice. We're already seeing voices of reason battling with fear mongers and conspiracy theory pirates.

I don't believe China will relinquish their lead in EVs, nor in any other 21st century technology (rare earth metal extraction, solar panels, etc, etc). As theirs is also the biggest car market by far, EVs will survive into the future if I'm right.

We may all end up driving Chinese made vehicles sooner rather than later. Trump is accelerating the decline of the American/Western post WWII hegemony. And who knows? Tesla may be the last American brand left standing. How ironic would that be!

Chinese EV adoption has been driven by government subsidies and mandates, with actual public enthusiasm for EVs relatively low. I think that what I wrote above will also happen in China: they will reduce or eliminate subsidies, and may relax a few mandates as well - especially if the air stays clear for a while.

Most of us who live in a somewhat urban area have seen the cleanest air in decades but sadly I think people will like at the price of gas (low right now), the price of the car (gas car is cheaper they do not think of maintenence and long term costs) and stay with gassers as well. Seems like such a good chance to show what an EV world woud look like.

salyavin said:

... show what an EV world woud look like.

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The EV world is coming in more permanent fashion. The improvements in battery technology isn't slowing down. 8% a year. Each year EVs become more compelling and more oil wells dry up. The big oil companies investment portfolio shows a trillion dollars in renewable energy investments. Much less is being invested in oil now. https://oilprice.com/Energy/Energy-General/The-30-Trillion-Trend-Thats-Bigger-Than-The-Entire-US-Stock-Market.html

DanCar said:

salyavin said:

... show what an EV world woud look like.

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The EV world is coming in more permanent fashion. The improvements in battery technology isn't slowing down. 8% a year. Each year EVs become more compelling and more oil wells dry up. The big oil companies investment portfolio shows a trillion dollars in renewable energy investments. Much less is being invested in oil now. https://oilprice.com/Energy/Energy-General/The-30-Trillion-Trend-Thats-Bigger-Than-The-Entire-US-Stock-Market.html

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Thanks for the link. COVID-19 for sure woke the pre baby boomers about air pollution increasingly as a factor in premature deaths. Baby boomers are dying too fast to be a large force for renewable energy.

https://www.bloomberg.com/news/articles/2020-05-13/nissan-said-to-plan-2-8-billion-in-cost-cuts-book-charges

This does not look good for Nissan.

They are closing down an advisory group that cost them a relative pittance.

The full impact of this pandemic will be a wild card for Nissan and other auto makers for the next several years. Before the pandemic Carlos said Nissan would be in bankruptcy by 2022. Where he has inside info or if it is just sour grapes time will tell.

GaleHawkins said:

The full impact of this pandemic will be a wild card for Nissan and other auto makers for the next several years. Before the pandemic Carlos said Nissan would be in bankruptcy by 2022. Where he has inside info or if it is just sour grapes time will tell.

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If his claims of mistreatment are true then I wouldn't expect any success from the corrupt and spineless leadership he left behind.

Nubo said:

GaleHawkins said:

The full impact of this pandemic will be a wild card for Nissan and other auto makers for the next several years. Before the pandemic Carlos said Nissan would be in bankruptcy by 2022. Where he has inside info or if it is just sour grapes time will tell.

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If his claims of mistreatment are true then I wouldn't expect any success from the corrupt and spineless leadership he left behind.

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From what I was just reading this evening it sounds like Nissan is at sea in a storm with broken mask and ripped off rudder. Maybe Nissan should have had a game plan before kicking Carlos to the curb. If he is as evil as Nissan now claims why did they not remove him years ago?

I read yesterday Nissan plans to downsize soon by cutting another 20,000 employees world wide but the article did not talk any details but I gathered there are no details yet. Nissan did say planning was hard because they are currently clueless as to what sales projection to use due to the impact of the virus pandemic stopping most sales at this time. A lot of Nissan rental cars are expected to hit the market soon as well.

^^^
Indeed there's been speculation in the media that Nissan will cut 20K jobs but Nissan corporate hasn't announced that yet. We'll see.

And, there's been this:
Renault could 'disappear' without government help, French finance minister warns
https://www.autocar.co.uk/car-news/new-cars/renault-could-%E2%80%9Cdisappear%E2%80%9D-without-aid-warns-french-minister
https://www.cnn.com/2020/05/22/business/renault-france-bruno-le-maire/index.html