Nissan ‘more confident’ over future of UK plant

FEARS that Nissan’s Qashqai flagship model could leave the car-maker’s UK plant in the north-easy may have been eased after the company’s boss said he was “confident” the UK will remain a competitive place to do business.

When is a Merc not a Merc?

So, when is a Mercedes-Benz pick-up not a Mercedes pick-up? The answer, it would seem, is a when it is a Nissan pick-up, or a Renault pick-up.

Nissan halts UK sales to Russia

Nissan, after declaring Russia as one its top European area for sales, ahead of the UK, has frozen orders from the region..

Renault kicks off production in Algeria

Renault Algérie Production (RAP) has launched its new car manufacturing plant in Oued Tlelat in the Oran region of Algeria.

Daimler, Nissan launch 300,000/y Mexico JV

Start-of-production (SOP) is planned in Mexico for 2017 at a Renault-Nissan/Daimler AG plant that will make 300,000 premium compact vehicles a year.

Renault-Nissan CEO Carlos Ghosn and Daimler chief executive officer Dieter Zetsche have announced their 50:50 joint venture that will see construction and operation of the new plant in Aguascalientes in north-central Mexico.

Nissan to make 200,000/y in Brazil

Nissan has opened its US$1 billion assembly plant in Resende, Brazil.

According to Nissan the plant will have a production rate capacity of 200,000 vehicles and engines a year, making it one of the largest investments by any manufacturer in Brazil.

Major investment by Renault in Brazil

A new investment cycle has been implemented by Renault Group in Brazil worth R$ 500 million (£133 million) over the 2014-2019 period.

This investment will be channelled into the development of two new cars at Renault's plant in Curitiba.

LEAF more popular in UK than Japan

THE Sunderland-built Nissan LEAF is more popular with owners than the version built in Japan, the car maker's electric vehicle boss has told The Northern Echo in the UK on the anniversary of the hatchbacks debut.  

More than 13,000 LEAFs have been built at Nissan's North-East factory in the 12 months since the UK Prime Minister formally set the production line rolling.

Renault-Nissan head for more ‘convergence’

The Renault-Nissan alliance is about to embark on its next significant wave of integration: the convergence of engineering, manufacturing and supply chain management, purchasing and human resources from 1 April.

Renault and Nissan joined forces in 1999, when Renault invested 643 billion yen (approximately €5 billion or US$ 5.4 billion at the time) for a 36.8% stake in Nissan, which at the time was close to bankruptcy.

Daimler and Renault in new van tie-up

Mercedes-Benz has created an air of some confusion over its future van strategy with Renault.

While on the one hand, Daimler AG and Renault SA continue to identify new projects together as they expand their global cooperation to include commercial vans made in Japan, in Europe the picture for Daimler’s large vans is less clear.

Renault's alliance partner Nissan Motor Corporation will supply Daimler with the NV350 Urvan which will be sold under its Mitsubishi Fuso brand in selected export markets.

First production Infiniti Q50 emerges at Tochigi

The first production model of the Infiniti Q50, the all-new premium sports saloon, rolled off the assembly line at the Tochigi production plant on 14 May.

The official off-line ceremony was presided over by Carlos Ghosn, president and CEO of Nissan Motor Co. Ltd., and Johan de Nysschen, president of Infiniti Motor Company Ltd.

The Q50 is the first in the new generation of Infiniti vehicles. It sets fresh benchmarks in the areas of emotive styling, advanced technology and performance.

Nissan sales reach record high

Nissan Motor Company’s results for the year ending 31 March 2013 were: net revenue: JPY 9.63 trillion (US$ 116.16 billion, €90.17 billion); operating profit of JPY 523.5 billion (US$ 6.31 billion, €4.90 billion); ordinary profit of JPY 529.3 billion (US$ 6.38 billion, €4.96 billion); and net income of JPY 342.4 billion (US$ 4.13 billion, €3.21 billion).

In FY2012, global sales reached a record-high of 4.914 million units, up 1.4% over FY2011.  Ten new models were launched to global markets, including the new Altima in the US; Sylphy in China; and the Note in Japan.

Carlos Ghosn, Nissan president and chief executive officer, said: "Fiscal 2012 was marked by both successes and challenges for Nissan. We ended the year with a sound balance sheet, record global sales, an improved brand, and an expanded presence in critical growth markets.”