Note: Renault's future is a bit dubious, because they had to break up with Nissan, and the merger with FCA failed, so they're mostly going at it alone, and they're IMHO too small for that. However, they already have a few EV models, including the most popular EV in Europe for a few years ( Zoe), so maybe they're not that badly placed, and in any case the French government is unlikely to let them fail.
As a French, I find this quite funny because Renault tried for years not to sell their batteries but lease them (Zoe's mostly, which was the most sold EV in Europe for quite some time).
Tesla never offered the rental option for their batteries b/c they trusted their quality and reliability (Renault's batteries were and are quite subpar).
They are not doing well, but neither could afford a split at this moment, although Carlos Ghosn case is a big issue in their relationship.
The split is not realistic to happen in the next few years, but some type of restructuring where Nissan would get more control/independence is likely.
Not sure where the data came from in the top comment, but also Renault didn't have any talks with Stellantis AFAIK, and not sure such merger would be approved atm.
"In early 2019, Fiat Chrysler Automobiles (FCA) sought a merger with French automaker Renault, and reached a provisional agreement with the company. However, the behaviour of the French government during negotiations led to the abandonment of the deal; The Economist reported that "for FCA this portended future interference." Nissan also had various concerns of the impact of the proposal on its alliance with Renault."
I meant before Stellantis happened, FCA were desperate for a merger with someone and it seems that their first choice was Renault, not PSA. ( Funnily PSA's boss, and the guy running Stellantis now, was at a high level at Renault-Nissan under Ghosn, but was pushed out). Check out the sibling comment for more details
Not sure if you're joking but the Lada Niva Taiga sells quite well in the Austrian countryside where you want a car to beat through the mud and snow. The most modern feature on it is probably electric windows.
Pretty excellent cars, and a no-brainer if your back has ever even hinted it might be sore (the seats are a particular highlight).
As far as I know, there's no feature that they will remotely disable, though since the car can connect to the internet for various things (sometimes using your phone, sometimes with its own modem, depending on trim) it could in theory happen.
However, a lot of the servicing needs VIDA, which is an always-online subscription thing that communicates live with the mothership, and DICE, some proprietary hardware dongle, so it's not easy to do much to it other than the most cursory maintenance if it needs the computer.
Also the service manuals are for a car since 2014, they're in VIDA too and need a subscription (before that there's a hacked version you can use, but it's still a pain).
almost all of them? I think Tesla is the only manufacturer actually cutting off features like this, no? I own a Kia EV and it’s the same old car experience.
Some have announced potential features like paying for remote start, but they’ve all walked it back due to negative feedback afaik
