When Ivan Espinosa took over the role of Nissan CEO last year, he inherited the control of a company which posted an annual net loss of ¥670.9 billion (A$6.2 billion), well down from being in the black a year prior.
In the months leading up to his appointment, his predecessor tried and failed to negotiate a merger with fellow Japanese brand Honda, while at the same time showing off how precarious of a financial situation Nissan was in.
Not long after Espinosa took charge, he announced drastic cost-cutting measures to make Nissan a viable business once again, which to this point in time has included selling its global headquarters in Yokohama, planning the closure of seven global factories, and cut its production targets from three to 2.5 million vehicles.
Speaking to the Financial Times on a trip to Nissan’s UK technical centre, Espinosa opened up on how the brand got to the stage it found itself, and why he thinks that is in its past.
“In a way, I think we lost our way,” Espinosa told the Financial Times.
“We forgot who we were . . . and we became a financial target company,”
“There was a lot of politics in the past, a lot of tension and a lot of posturing by executives. This is not the case anymore because, simply said, it’s not who we are as leaders.”
Despite previously being praised as Nissan’s saviour in the 1990s, former CEO Carlos Ghosn has often been attributed with its most recent downfall, partly due to his aggressive cost-cutting and price reduction strategies in the early 2010s, but also his unceremonious exit from the brand.
In 2018, Ghosn (no longer CEO but serving as chairman) was arrested in Japan for alleged financial misconduct, which later led to him being placed under house arrest. In 2019, he dramatically escaped and fled Japan for his native Lebanon, where he has remained as a fugitive since.
This, according to insiders, destabilised the internal structure within Nissan, which went through three CEOs between Ghosn and Espinosa, none of whom improved the financial position of the brand.
Nissan is also fighting external factors, with the ever rising number of Chinese brands taking away its market share in key regions, while tariffs also threaten its business.
According to Espinosa, these are some of the biggest impacts on Nissan.
“It’s becoming increasingly difficult for companies of our size to remain relevant in this environment,” he said. “You need to remain open and flexible.”
While Nissan is not yet out of the woods, last month it announced its most recent financial results, which included an estimated full-year operating loss of ¥60 billion (A$553.3 million) for 2025, rather than the originally forecasted figure of ¥275 billion (A$2.5 billion).
This was already in the brand’s plans as it shakes up its product lineup to focus on higher profit vehicles, spearheaded by its Nismo performance division targeting to double the number of its model lineup from five to 10.
If this happens, it’s projected Nismo sales will rise by 50 per cent from 100,000 cars annually to 150,000 cars by 2028, buoyed on by an increase of 40 to 60 per cent outside of Japan.
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