The EV will help spearhead a renewal of Nissan’s global lineup, CEO Makoto Uchida said at a contentious annual shareholders’ meeting where investors criticized the automaker's handling of the Carlos Ghosn scandal.

Takao Kato told shareholders that executive pay cuts are a way to "share the pain" as he outlined the automaker’s plan to reduce global fixed costs by 20 percent.

Nissan aims to become a smaller, more profitable company as it cuts billions in costs, slashes production capacity and trims its lineup.

Alliance executives said they will create further efficiencies by extending commonization of vehicle platforms to upper bodies. They will also select a "mother vehicle" that will serve a template for every other model in the segment.

Uncertainty about the pandemic underscores the alliance's midterm plans. Even as Renault, Nissan and Mitsubishi settle on new future targets, a second wave of COVID-19 shutdowns still could throw their plans off course.

Mitsubishi swung to a net loss of 14 billion yen ($129.9 million) in the quarter, exacerbating an earnings crisis facing alliance partners Renault and Nissan.

Subaru benefited from minimal exposure to the China market, which was badly hit by the coronavirus in the first three months and did not suspend factory output in the U.S. until March 23, just days before the quarter ended.

Toyota, Honda and even tiny Mazda say they will keep stoking their heavy spending on costly next-generation technologies.

Mazda's retail sales in Europe fell 39 percent in the latest quarter as government coronavirus showdowns closed showrooms.

Honda posted a 5.6 billion yen ($51.9 million) operating loss in the latest quarter amid slumping sales as the pandemic hammered the global economy.

Toyota expects that its annual operating profit will drop 80 percent as the coronavirus pandemic hits global demand for cars.

The Belgian designer, who overhauled the styling at Hyundai, Kia and Genesis, is leaving the automaker for personal reasons.

Nissan, already reeling from plunging profits and sales before the coronavirus, is warning that the global outbreak will deliver a net loss of almost $1 billion for the fiscal year.

Mazda used a small Wankel engine as a range extender in a prototype Mazda2 EV. A similar system could find its way onto the MX-30.

Renault is ending sales of conventional passenger cars in China and will focus instead on electric vehicles and light commercial vehicles, as part of a global realignment underway with its Japanese alliance partners Nissan and Mitsubishi.