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☆ Hyundai's Genesis brand is a dark horse in U.S. luxury vehicle market
▼ + stars: | 2024-04-05 | by ( Michael Wayland | ) www.cnbc.com time to read: +5 min

Not only has Genesis made it, the brand has thrived to become a dark horse in the U.S. luxury market with unique styling, unexpected comfort and well-ranked quality. Patricia Wayne, first all-electric GV60 customer and Claudia Marquez (right), chief operating officer, Genesis Motor North America, at Genesis Santa Monica, Santa Monica, Calif., May 26, 2022. Genesis started as a vehicle in Hyundai's lineup but the company announced in late 2015 that it would become its own brand. Genesis sales last year increased about 23% over the prior year to 69,175 vehicles. Muñoz said Genesis will be a "key focus of the plant," which also will produce Hyundai and Kia vehicles.

Persons: Michael Wayland, —, Randy Parker, Claudia Marquez, Parker, Marquez, Patricia Wayne, Genesis, José, Muñoz, Jae Hoon Chang, there's, Stephanie Brinley, that's, Brinley, … Organizations: CNBC, Hyundai Motor, South, Infiniti, Hyundai Group, Hyundai, New York, Genesis, North America, Santa, North American, Porsche, Lexus, Mercedes, Benz, North, Rover, Volvo, P Global Mobility, Kia Locations: South Korean, U.S, North America, Santa Monica, Calif, Lincoln, New York, Georgia, Alabama, South Korea

☆ Nissan is ramping up its UK EV business with a $2.5 billion investment
▼ + stars: | 2023-11-25 | by ( Polly Thompson | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +2 min

Nissan announced that it would invest billions in its UK EV business. The Japanese company said it would build three EV models in its UK factory as part of the deal. AdvertisementThe Japanese car manufacturer Nissan announced on Friday that it would invest £2 billion, which is around $2.5 billion, in its electric vehicle (EV) business in the UK. It takes Nissan's total proposed investment in the region to £3 billion, or around $3.8 billion, after the company already pledged $1 billion. Nissan did not immediately respond to Business Insider's request for comment, which was made outside of normal working hours.

Persons: —, Makoto Uchida, Rishi Sunak, IAN FORSYTH, Getty Organizations: Nissan, EV, Service, Sunderland, Britain's, European Union, Land Rover, Tata, BMW, British Locations: England, Europe, Sunderland

☆ Nissan invests $1.4 bln to build two new EV models in Britain
▼ + stars: | 2023-11-24 | by ( Nick Carey | ) www.reuters.com time to read: +3 min

Nissan has made its electric Leaf model in Sunderland for years and will continue to do so, with batteries supplied by a small plant at the site. It announced a $1.4 billion investment in 2021 to build a second, 9 gigawatt-hour (GWh) battery plant in Sunderland with Chinese partner Envision AESC. Nissan did not comment on the value of any subsidies or guarantees being provided by Britain. [1/4]Britain's Prime Minister Rishi Sunak and Chancellor of the Exchequer Jeremy Hunt attach a Nissan badge to a car as they visit the car manufacturer, Nissan, in Sunderland, Britain, November 24, 2023. But Sunak, who became prime minister a year ago, is having some success turning that around.

Persons: Rishi, Sunak, Nissan's, Alan Johnson, Rishi Sunak, Jeremy Hunt, Chancellor, Makoto Uchida, Brexit, Nick Carey, Sarah Young, Paul Sandle, Sonali Paul, Mark Potter Organizations: Nissan, Investment Summit, Britain, BBC, Britain's, India's Tata Motors, Rover, Thomson Locations: Sunderland, England, Britain, Europe, EVs

☆ Nissan to invest $1.4 bln to build two new EV models in Britain
▼ + stars: | 2023-11-24 | by ( Nick Carey | ) www.reuters.com time to read: +2 min

A staff cleans charging ports of Nissan's Leaf battery electric vehicle during the Japan Mobility Show 2023 at Tokyo Big Sight in Tokyo, Japan, November 1, 2023. Japan's third-biggest automaker said it would announce the names of the new EV models and timings for production launches at a later date. Earlier this year, Nissan raised its targets for EV models as it plays catch up in a segment dominated by newcomers like Tesla (TSLA.O) - saying it would launch 19 new EV models by 2030. The Nissan EV production announcement comes just months after India's Tata Motors (TAMO.NS) said it would invest 4 billion pounds in a UK EV battery plant to supply its Jaguar Land Rover factories. Industry experts had described the Tata battery plant as good progress, but argue Britain needs much more EV battery production capacity to maintain a viable, growing auto industry.

Persons: Kim Kyung, Makoto Uchida, Rishi Sunak, Nick Carey, Sonali Paul Organizations: Japan, REUTERS, Nissan, British, Nissan EV, India's Tata Motors, EV, Rover, Industry, Tata, Thomson Locations: Tokyo, Japan, Sunderland, Europe, Britain

☆ Nissan to make electric versions of Qashqai, Juke in Britain -Sky News
▼ + stars: | 2023-11-22 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: 1 min

[1/2] A badge is seen on the new Juke car at Nissan's car plant in Sunderland Britain, October 10, 2019. REUTERS/Phil Noble/ File Photo Acquire Licensing RightsCompanies Nissan Motor Co Ltd FollowLONDON, Nov 22 (Reuters) - Japanese carmaker Nissan Motor Co (7201.T) will announce on Friday that it will build the electric versions of its Qashqai and Juke models at its plant in Sunderland, northern England, Sky News reported on Wednesday. Citing automotive industry sources, Sky reported Nissan would commit hundreds of millions of pounds to the project. While no upfront taxpayer money will be involved, the British government is expected to provide guarantees, the report added. Nissan representatives could not immediately be reached for comment.

Persons: Phil Noble, Kylie MacLellan, Nick Carey Organizations: REUTERS, Nissan Motor, Nissan, Sky News, Thomson Locations: Sunderland Britain, Sunderland, England

☆ Nissan CEO weighs in on how the EV market has changed since Covid
▼ + stars: | 2023-11-02 | by ( John Rosevear | In Jrosevear | ) www.cnbc.com time to read: +3 min

That presents a series of challenges to established automakers like Nissan, which have followed global strategies for decades. The market has been fragmented, and customers' acceptance speed is also different," Uchida said. "So what's important is how much we can start to localize in each respective market," Uchida said. But many of those new Nissan EVs will no longer be global models. For instance, EV customers in China are very sensitive to pricing – but they also want the latest technology, which they've come to expect from the fierce competition between the many domestic Chinese EV makers.

Persons: Makoto Uchida, –, CNBC's Martin Soong, Uchida, they've, Li Auto, Kraft Heinz, FanDuel Organizations: Nissan Motor Co, Nissan Hyper Force, Japan, Nissan, Toyota, Volkswagen, Target, FedEx, Kraft, CNBC PRO Locations: Tokyo, Japan, U.S, Europe, China

Nissan late last month upgraded its full-year operating profit forecast, raising it by 30 billion yen ($208 million) to 550 billion yen. About 20 billion yen of that came from the currency, CFO Stephen Ma told a briefing. At smaller Subaru (7270.T), a move of one yen against the dollar has a 20 billion yen impact on operating profit, CFO Katsuyuki Mizuma said earlier this month. On Wednesday, a Honda official said its April-June operating profit came in tens of billions of yen higher than expected, with the weak yen accounting for about half of that. It is unclear how long the weak yen will last.

Persons: Aly, Satoru Aoyama, Stephen Ma, Katsuyuki Mizuma, Eisuke Sakakibara, Mizuma, Daniel Leussink, David Dolan, Toby Chopra Organizations: Auto, REUTERS, Toyota, Honda, Nissan, Fitch, Japan, U.S . Federal Reserve, Subaru, Lexus, Reuters, Thomson Locations: Auto Shanghai, Shanghai, China, Asia, Europe, CHINA

For Nissan, that means contending with an increasingly grim outlook for foreign automakers in China, the world's biggest car market. AMPERE INVESTMENTNissan said it would invest up to 600 million euros ($663 million) in Renault's electric vehicle unit, Ampere. Renault, meanwhile, will lower its stake in Nissan to 15% from around 43%, putting their relationship on equal footing. The investment in Ampere is consistent with Nissan being a strategic investor and securing a board seat on the new company, Nissan said. Nissan had flagged in February that it would invest a maximum 15% in Ampere, but the exact size of its stake remained unclear.

Persons: Gonzalo Fuentes, Makoto Uchida, AlixPartners, Nissan, Ampere, Gilles Guillame, Daniel Leussink, David Dolan, Miral Organizations: Renault, Viva Technology, Porte de, REUTERS, Investment, Nissan, Reuters, North America, Dongfeng Motor Group, Ampere, Qualcomm, Mitsubishi Motors, Thomson Locations: Porte, Paris, France, TOKYO, PARIS, Renault's, China, Japan, North, U.S

IMPORTED ASSEMBLY KITSAfter a chaotic decade following the collapse of the Soviet Union in 1991, Russia encouraged Western carmakers to build factories. "Undoubtedly, the expansion of Chinese carmakers on the Russian market will continue," said Andrey Olkhovsky, the head of dealership chain Avtodom. It is a radical change of fortunes for Chinese carmakers in Russia. Production of Chinese vehicles only began in Russia in 2019 with the arrival of Chinese automotive company Great Wall Motor (601633.SS). LESS LOCAL INPUTUnder the partnership with Chinese firms, less of the production at former Western factories is currently conducted in Russia, the sources said.

Persons: Jetour, Maxim Shemetov, Moscow's, Sergei Sobyanin, French carmaker, JAC, Sehol, Moskvich, capitalising, Vladimir Bespalov, Vladimir Putin, Andrey Olkhovsky, Olkhovsky, Wall, Sollers, Avtovaz, Denis Manturov, Gleb Stolyarov, Alexander Marrow, Zhang Yan, Daniel Flynn Organizations: REUTERS, French, French carmaker Renault, Moscow Automobile Factory, JAC Motors, Reuters, Renault, Nissan, Russia's Industry, Trade Ministry, Wall, Chery, Geely, HK, Argo, Ford Transit, Nissan's St, Lada, China's FAW Group's, FAW, Western, Trade, Thomson Locations: Lyubertsy, Moscow Region, Russia, Soviet, Moscow, Anhui, Ukraine, Soviet Union, Western, Tula, Autostat, Tatarstan, Nissan's, Nissan's St Petersburg, St Petersburg, Leningrad, Japan, Europe, China, Shanghai

Nissan has been working to define a lower threshold for its pledged, strategic investment in Renault's electric vehicle unit, Ampere, below the 15% maximum target it announced in February, two of the people said. The automakers announced a framework agreement in February and had aimed to finalise the deal as early as March. Under the framework, the Japanese automaker would take the as much as 15% of Ampere and Renault would reduce its 43% stake in Nissan. "Nissan and Renault are engaged in constructive and ongoing negotiations. The board has not heard the final report on the surveillance claim, according to the three people.

Persons: Ampere, Makoto Uchida, Ashwani Gupta, Gupta, Nissan's, Maki Shiraki, Daniel Leussink, Kevin Krolicki, David Dolan Organizations: Nissan, Renault, Reuters, Thomson Locations: TOKYO

Under the framework, the Japanese automaker would take as much as 15% of Renault's new electric vehicle unit, Ampere, while Renault would reduce its 43% stake in Nissan. The delay shows how the latest tension at the top of the Japanese automaker has complicated a drive to bring the decades-long relationship with Renault to a more equal footing. After the automaker was pitched into turmoil by the ouster of former Chairman Carlos Ghosn, Nissan executives sought to rebalance the alliance he built. We will make a statement in due course when the agreements are concluded," the Japanese automaker said in a statement. Nissan and Renault's junior partner, Mitsubishi Motors, has also indicated it may invest in the company.

Persons: Ampere, Carlos Ghosn, Makoto Uchida, Ashwani Gupta, Gupta, Maki Shiraki, Daniel Leussink, Kevin Krolicki, David Dolan Organizations: Nissan, Renault, Reuters, Mitsubishi Motors, Qualcomm, Mitsubishi, Thomson Locations: TOKYO, U.S

Under the framework, the Japanese automaker would take as much as 15% of Renault's new electric vehicle unit, Ampere, while Renault would reduce its 43% stake in Nissan. That timeline was extended when senior Nissan executives and some directors challenged detailed provisions of deal, citing the need to better protect Nissan's intellectual property, Reuters has reported. Nissan executives sought to rebalance the alliance built by former Chairman Carlos Ghosn after his ouster sent the automaker into turmoil. While the size of the investment ultimately hinges on the value of Ampere, Nissan is likely to take less than 10%, one of them said. By closing out the restructured Renault deal, Nissan executives have the opportunity to pivot to other challenges, including a medium-term strategy update and a change in approach to China, where Nissan's sales, and those of other global automakers, are in decline.

Persons: Ampere, Carlos Ghosn, Makoto Uchida, Ashwani Gupta, Gupta, Maki Shiraki, Daniel Leussink, Kevin Krolicki, David Dolan, Christian Schmollinger, Sharon Singleton Organizations: Renault, Nissan finalise, Nissan, TOKYO, Reuters, Mitsubishi Motors, Qualcomm, Mitsubishi, Thomson Locations: U.S, China

☆ Nissan to invest some $725 mln in Renault's EV unit, Yomiuri says
▼ + stars: | 2023-07-14 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +1 min

TOKYO, July 14 (Reuters) - Nissan Motor (7201.T) is likely to invest around 100 billion yen ($725 million) in Renault's (RENA.PA) new electric vehicle unit, the Yomiuri Shimbun said on Friday, potentially clearing a hurdle in drawn-out talks to reshape their automaking alliance. The Japanese automaker on Thursday settled on the terms for a contract to overhaul its partnership with Renault and agreed with its French partner on the investment amount in the EV unit, Ampere, the Yomiuri said. A Nissan spokesperson said discussions about the contract, including the investment amount, were not yet finalised. That would be short of the 15% maximum Nissan set in February for the investment. ($1 = 138.0200 yen)Reporting by Daniel Leussink and Elaine Lies; Editing by Chris Reese and David DolanOur Standards: The Thomson Reuters Trust Principles.

Persons: Ampere, Daniel Leussink, Elaine Lies, Chris Reese, David Dolan Organizations: Nissan, Yomiuri Shimbun, Renault, EV, Yomiuri, Mitsubishi Motors, Thomson Locations: TOKYO, Renault's

The preliminary report said Nissan had installed two sets of security cameras at the entrance to Gupta's house in Tokyo's Shibuya ward, the people said. Uchida and Gupta, who was still a Nissan director and chief operating officer on June 20, were recused from the board meeting. In his letter, Nada asked for an international law firm to be brought in to investigate the surveillance of Gupta. Reuters was unable to determine if either law firm had made any finding about the harassment claim itself, beyond how it was handled. Nada said in his letter he understood that Japanese law firm Anderson Mori & Tomotsune had investigated the claim.

Persons: Ashwani Gupta, Makoto Uchida, Davis Polk, Gupta, Uchida, Nissan, Akira Takeuchi, Hari Nada, Nada, Iwata Godo, Motoo Nagai, Nagai, Anderson Mori, Tomotsune, Daniel Leussink, Maki Shiraki, Kevin Krolicki, David Clarke Organizations: Nissan, Renault, Reuters, NEW, Senior Renault, Thomson Locations: Yokohama, Tokyo's Shibuya, Tokyo, French, Austin , Texas

☆ Renault CEO says free float of future electric unit will be more than 10%
▼ + stars: | 2023-06-27 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +1 min

PARIS, June 27 (Reuters) - A sizeable chunk of Renault's (RENA.PA) planned electric vehicle spinoff could remain in free float on the stock market, its CEO said in an interview published on Tuesday, declining comment on any further strategic investor who would join partners Qualcomm and Nissan (7201.T). "We need to leave some free float, because we still want to retain a significant majority ourselves", Luca De Meo told business daily La Tribune. "Porsche has left 10% free float, and I think that we are aiming for a higher percentage, a minority, but sufficient to ensure liquidity", he added, referring to the luxury carmaker's $72 billion stockmarket debut last year, the biggest in Germany since 1996. Sources have said Renault's future electric vehicle unit, Ampere, could be valued at up to 10 billion euros ($10.96 billion). And we have created a solid and excellent relationship with Makoto Uchida (...)."

Persons: Luca De Meo, Ampere, De Meo, Makoto Uchida, Tassilo Hummel Organizations: Qualcomm, Nissan, La Tribune, Porsche, Thomson Locations: Germany

TOKYO, June 27 (Reuters) - Nissan Motor (7201.T) shareholders on Tuesday backed Chief Executive Makoto Uchida and other board nominees at its first annual general meeting since reaching a new deal with alliance partner Renault (RENA.PA). The shareholder meeting has taken place amid new ructions for the automaker's management. Nissan is investigating claims that Uchida carried out surveillance of deputy Ashwani Gupta, sources have said. There were no questions by shareholders about the claims at the shareholder meeting. Shareholders on Tuesday also rejected a proposal by an individual investor for higher dividends this financial year that was opposed by the company's board.

Persons: Makoto Uchida, Uchida, Ashwani Gupta, Gupta, Brenda Harvey, Maki Shiraki, Daniel Leussink, Chang, Ran Kim, David Dolan, Edwina Gibbs Organizations: Nissan, Renault, IBM, Reuters, Thomson Locations: TOKYO

TOKYO, June 24 (Reuters) - Nissan (7201.T) has launched an investigation into claims by a senior adviser that Chief Executive Makoto Uchida carried out surveillance of his deputy Ashwani Gupta, four people with direct knowledge of the matter said. In the letter, Nada said Uchida carried out surveillance over a long period. Asked to comment on the surveillance investigation, Nissan said in response to Reuters: "Independent third parties have been retained to verify facts and carry out appropriate actions." Nada did not detail in the letter how he knew of the alleged surveillance of Gupta. Nada is a member of two executive committees established by Nissan in 2019 as part of a governance reform after the Ghosn scandal.

Persons: Makoto Uchida, Ashwani Gupta, Hari Nada, Nada, Uchida, Renault, Gupta, Nissan, Akira Takeuchi, Anderson Mori, Tomotsune, Carlos Ghosn, Ghosn, Jean, Dominique Senard, Luca de Meo, de Meo, Greg Kelly, Nissan's, Ampere, David Dolan, Gilles Guillaume, Kevin Krolicki, David Clarke Organizations: Nissan, Financial Times, Reuters, Renault, NISSAN, RENAULT, Thomson Locations: TOKYO, Tokyo, Lebanon, Japan, Paris

☆ 10 Things in Tech: TikTok is transforming comedy, Microsoft’s futuristic doctor visits, and Elon Musk announces a new Twitter CEO
▼ + stars: | 2023-05-12 | by ( Diamond Naga Siu | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +4 min

My colleague Lakshmi Varanasi tested a buzzy AI service called Runway that can generate full videos from just a text prompt. She found that using Runway feels similar to using OpenAI's controversial Dall-E 2 or Stable Diffusion — impressive but not perfect. Check out the photos and videos Runway generated for her here. In other news:In a conference presentation, Andrea Barrett, a physician assistant and Nuance consultant, demonstrates products using generative AI. Elon Musk tweeted on Thursday that he's picked a new CEO for Twitter.

☆ I drove Nissan's electric Ariya SUV — it proves that 13 years after the Leaf, the automaker can compete with Tesla
▼ + stars: | 2023-05-10 | by ( Tim Levin | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +7 min

The basicsThe 2023 Nissan Ariya Empower+ Tim Levin/InsiderThe Ariya landed in the US earlier this year with a starting retail price of $43,190. The 2023 Nissan Ariya Empower+ Tim Levin/InsiderThere's no bulky tunnel running down the middle of the vehicle. The 2023 Nissan Ariya Empower+ Tim Levin/InsiderThe quirks don't stop there. The 2023 Nissan Ariya Empower+ Tim Levin/InsiderHands-free driving isn't available across the board, but Nissan doesn't skimp on standard safety features. The 2023 Nissan Ariya Empower+ Tim Levin/InsiderNissan says the Ariya can charge from 20%-80% in 40 minutes using a sufficiently powerful fast charger.

While other automakers like Volkswagen AG (VOWG_p.DE) have also been caught out by the sharp shift in China, Japanese automakers stand out because of their limited showing in the fast-growing category of electric and plug-in hybrid sales. Mitsubishi, like some other Japanese automakers, does not break out China sales figures. Industry data analysed by Reuters showed its first-quarter sales in China fell by 58% from a year earlier. Nissan Motor Co Ltd (7201.T) posted a 45.8% drop in China sales and Mazda Motor Corp (7261.T) sales were down 66.5% in the first quarter. "Japanese automakers could face a similar struggle in the United States as in China," he said.

Imbalance had long riled Nissan executives who complained Renault did not pay its fair share of costs for innovation and development. In a joint statement to Reuters, Nissan and Renault said they were working toward final partnership terms that would make them more competitive. Nissan will invest and provide technology for the venture but will limit its operational involvement, one of the people told Reuters. In rebalancing talks, Nissan has pushed for protection of its technology to limit any downside from continued partnership, people involved have said. Among technology Nissan wants to protect is its work on solid-state lithium-ion battery making and its e-Power electric hybrid powertrain, the people said.

☆ Japan's Toyota hands St Petersburg plant over to Russian state
▼ + stars: | 2023-03-31 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +2 min

"Toyota's production site in St Petersburg has... been transferred to the state," Russia's Ministry of Industry and Trade said in a statement. The company said in September it had decided to stop vehicle production in Russia due to the interruption in supplies of key materials and parts. "Toyota confirms that it has concluded the transfer of its vehicle production plant to NAMI effective from March 31, 2023," Toyota said in a statement. Neither party disclosed a fee for the transaction, and Toyota declined to give any further details of the deal. NAMI, Russia's Central Automobile and Engine Research and Development Institute, has already taken plants from Renault and Nissan.

The tool and die workers in a 62-9 vote rejected a campaign by the International Association of Machinists and Aerospace Workers (IAM), according to results announced by the U.S. National Labor Relations Board. The 75 technicians would have been the first group to unionize at the Japanese automaker's largest assembly plant in North America. Nissan spokesperson Lloryn Love-Carter said, "Nissan respects this decision, and we remain focused on working with employees to drive our future forward together." “The IAM will continue to support these workers so we will be prepared for them to join our union when the time is right again," the union said. In 1989 and 2001, workers in Smyrna voted overwhelmingly against joining the United Auto Workers union.

But production is running at least a third below plan, keeping the Ariya from shipping to new customers, according to three of the people and production planning notes reviewed by Reuters. Implementation has proved "an extremely, extremely high challenge" and the advanced paint line has become a persistent headache, one of the people said. In a statement to Reuters, Nissan said Ariya production had faced challenges including supply of semiconductors, disruptions in components shipments and the factory's paint line. EVs accounted for just 4.5% of Nissan's global sales of 3.2 million vehicles in 2022. Output over the next two months is expected to fall short of that, according to production planning notes from last month reviewed by Reuters.

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