The new HEV will have “more room than a BMW X5, be faster than a VW TDI and have higher mpg than a Fiat 500,” with “lavish features rarely found in near-luxury vehicles,” Bob Carter says.
CEO Carlos Ghosn wants to double Leaf deliveries in the U.S., but a top executive says tight supplies and new markets mean Nissan dealers will compete for units on a global scale.
The Elantra is under fire from some angry car buyers who say they cannot achieve the car’s stated EPA fuel economy of 29-40 mpg in city/highway driving.
Mark Templin says building models outside Japan is not the only tool the luxury brand has to fight the exchange-rate. Cutting money out of the supply chain without taking it out of the product is another.
Nissan this year will launch new versions of its Pathfinder, Altima and Sentra models to drive U.S. growth, and aims to double the Leaf EV’s 9,674 sales recorded in 2011.