Dacia, the Romania-based car maker owned by Renault, has announced its first all-electric car, the Dacia Spring. It is a 4-seat city car, meaning it is a very small car, but Dacia says those are “real seats”, which one supposes to mean they’re full size. It should have a 200…
Nissan Motors has announced its former CEO and current Chairman, Carlos Ghosn, is alleged to have under-reported his compensation to Japanese authorities for years, hence committing tax and securities fraud. Subsequently he, and another Nissan board member, have been arrested by Japanese authorities, and there are allegations of similar misconduct…
Nissan-Renault is one of (er.. two of) the automobile companies working on autonomous drive. Nissan had previously announced the Zero Emissions Zero Fatalities pledge, and more recently showed off an autonomous vehicle prototype. The other day the Nissan-Renault Alliance laid out a roadmap for autonomous driving, and reminded us of…
This is an excellently frank overview of the status of the automobile industry. The same day as this Nissan unveiled the IDS Self Driving car concept. In this video, Ghosn said their goal was to facilitate drivers rather than replace drivers.
Because electric car battery packs are expensive, some in the industry think the pack should be leased separately from the car. Doing so would reduce the price of an electric car, making it more affordable, speeding up electric car adoption. That was the value proposition offered by Better Place, for…
The whole car industry must be able to compete against a 200+ mile range $35,000 MSRP electric car from Tesla Motors, by 2017. That fact is probably what’s behind today’s news/rumors that Nissan may be shutting down its battery factories and switching to LG Chem as their battery supplier. In…
If Nissan develops a 180+ mile range Nissan Leaf & Infiniti EV, and GM develops a 200+ mile range electric car, and BMW continues pushing into the EV market, and VW follows through on plans to be a major force in the electric vehicle market, all of which is due…
While Ford and Toyota disappoint us in announcing they won’t collaborate on hybrid drive trains for full-capability SUV’s and light trucks, Nissan gladdens us with news they’ve sold their 100,000th electric vehicle. I frequently come across naysayer articles pointing out that electric car sales are 0.5% of all car sales. …
Better Place has taken one of the more likely steps open to it, to shut down the company in a complete liquidation. After the company shut down its American and Australian operations, after a long period of struggles that saw the ouster of not only founder Shai Agassi, but the…
It seems my earlier prediction that Renault may be backing away from Better Place is confirmed (see Is Renault backing away from commitments to Better Place, causing a crisis for Better Place). I just wrote it up on examiner.com, but Renault/Nissan CEO Carlos Ghosn just told a Danish news site…
The Renault ZOE could be a game changing electric car thanks to a low price and fast charging system. Ahead of launching sales of the Renault ZOE all electric car in March, the company released a full write-up on Tuesday. The write-up gives more details on what may be a…
Some recent news about Renault and Better Place Australia is reinforcing my kooky theory that Renault is distancing itself from Better Place. Specifically, several news reports are circulating that Renault is indefinitely delaying the Australian launch of the Fluence Z.E. sedan. Why? Better Place has yet to build the required…
A series of news pieces the last few days has me wondering whether the obvious crisis underway at Better Place is due to signs that Renault is backing away from commitments to support Better Place. Better Place is not an automaker, but the operator of an electric car recharging and…
Renault’s subcompact electric car, the ZOE, has can recharge in 30 minutes, has an urban driving range of 90 miles, has an affordable price, and was named the Best Green Car of the 2012 Paris Motor Show. The Paris Auto Show has, for a few years, been a major showcase…
This week at the Frankfurt Auto Show, Renault unveiled a wide vision for electric vehicles being sold not just through Renault but also their partner, Nissan. According to the International Energy Agency, by 2050 CO2 emissions will have more than doubled. In 2010, there will be one billion cars on…
