Autos | featured news

The tiny Nissan Figaro, which can be spotted in Britain in the thousands, is an oddball little convertible with an ardent following and a back story that is even odder.

The automaker, which has 68,000 employees in the region, including through joint ventures, is also reviewing its factory operations there.

The company will pay compensation to car owners and civil penalties to federal and state agencies to settle lawsuits over its use of illegal software, people briefed on the case said.

The biggest problem is speed, and not knowing it will take much longer to stop, experts say.

Aston Martin and Jaguar are retrofitting classic vehicles. “We’d hate for them all to just wind up gathering dust in museums,” an Aston executive said.

The accord in lawsuits over false readings on diesel vehicles could cost nearly $800 million, including penalties, fixes, warranties and compensation.

Mr. Ghosn, the ousted Nissan chief, made his first public appearance since his November arrest to defend himself in a Tokyo court against charges of financial wrongdoing.

The industry sold more than 17 million vehicles for the fourth straight year. But it is relying more on fleet sales, and economic winds are not favorable.

Major automakers on Thursday shrugged off declines in U.S. new vehicle sales in December and said they were bullish about 2019 even as economists warned that rising interest rates will discourage consumers from buying cars in the year ahead.

A hearing set for Jan. 8 would be the first time the embattled auto industry executive has appeared in public since his arrest in November.