Nissan

In a two-and-a-half-hour press conference in Beirut, Lebanon, Carlos Ghosn, the former CEO of Renault and Nissan, has given a full-throated defence against the charges he was facing in Japan. Starting with an hour-long monologue to a packed conference room, Ghosn said he was detained in an "inhumane system of hostage justice" with a 99.4 per cent conviction rate.

Nissan has revealed a raft of small updates for its electric Leaf hatchback in Japan, but they haven't been confirmed for Australia. The 2020 Leaf, which lobs during February in Japan, will gain an updated ProPilot semi-autonomous driver assist suite to "reduce driver fatigue and stress".

The first renders of the production version of the Nissan GT-R50 by Italdesign have been released ahead of the car's in-the-flesh debut at next year's Geneva motor show in March. The GT-R50 is meant celebrate the 50th anniversary of Italdesign, which took place in 2018, and the GT-R's 50th birthday this year.

Is there light at the end of the tunnel for Nissan Z fans waiting for a 370Z replacement? A test mule based on the 370Z has been snapped at the Nurburgring, suggesting Nissan has started work on a replacement for the long-serving 370Z coupe and convertible. Although it looks very 370Z, there are a few notable changes here. The nose has been updated with six new vents above the lower intake, while the fog lights have been replaced with... blank space.

The Nissan Cube might be a cult hit in Australia thanks to thousands of ‘grey import’ used cars across the country, but that’s not enough to convince the Japanese giant to import the box-shaped hatchback as a brand-new model for local showrooms. The Nissan Cube will remain a Japan-only car because the cost of bringing the tiny vehicle up to Australian and European safety standards has been deemed prohibitively expensive.