AN ICONIC carmaker that is “on the brink of collapse” could be saved as its new boss has revealed talks of a merger with its major rival are back on.
Nissan’s incoming CEO Ivan Espinosa has said the company remains “very open” to partnerships just weeks after its merger talks with competitor Honda spectacularly collapsed.
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The company’s chief performance officer, Guillaume Cartier, also said Nissan had “never stopped” talking with its Japanese rival, confirming that the two were still actively working towards a potential partnership.
Espinosa, who will officially become chief on April 1, has said his company faces up to five simultaneous crises, including a damaged brand, low morale, and the execution of a sweeping turnaround.
The 46-year-old appears to be open to partnerships, saying there were “no taboos” around the idea of having future partners help plug the gaps in its range of motors.
Speaking at a company event, he said: “The way we are seeing partners is broadly, not only thinking about cars but how to push Nissan into the next era of technology”.
The FT reported that Espinosa sees the future of the industry in “intelligent cars”, and hopes to achieve this through collaboration with other manufacturers.
He added: “I would say for partnerships in general, we are very open.
“The future of the industry is going to be very interesting, and it’s clear that the name of the game in the future is how to build efficient partnerships that add value to your company.”
Espinosa is taking the role over from CEO Makoto Uchida, who came under fire after the much-anticipated merger between Nissan and Honda failed.
Nissan’s troubles run deep, and it is currently facing million of pounds worth of losses as of the end of March.
Its struggles first began appearing in mid-2024 when it asked dealers in the US to begin selling its vehicles at a loss.
News then broke that Nissan and Honda were to expand their earlier partnership to work on electric vehicles and software alongside fellow manufacturer Mitsubishi.
But in November, Nissan dropped the bombshell announcement that some 9,000 employees globally would be laid off, along with the reduction of production.
By the end of 2024, some company executives had disclosed that Nissan had 12 to 14 months left to survive – a frightening prospect, with its best chance of continuing being a merger with another company.
In December, the CEOs of Nissan and Honda met for official talks and announced they would officially look to merge.
But these talks deteriorated in the new year as Nissan withdrew from the deal, following Honda’s proposal to make them a subsidiary.
One senior Nissan official also strongly objected to the “rude things” his company had been told, it was reported last month.
NISSAN’S FINANCIAL WOES
Nissan’s decline in sales has been brought about by poor management decisions and a failure to adapt to the growing electric vehicle (EV) market.
Worries have been further exacerbated by the Zero-Emission Vehicle, or ZEV, mandate, requiring 28 per cent of car sales to be electric in 2025 — or face fines of £15,000 for every car they fall short on.
Nissan was previously world-leading in its production of EVs but has struggled to keep up with Toyota and Honda in production of hybrid motors.
“It is obvious that we are a little better than Nissan when it comes to HVs,” a senior Honda official said last month.
Nissan has also published its financial results outlook for the year ending March 31, and it does not look ideal.
The company is expected to have a net loss of hundreds of millions of pounds, with its operating loss for the automobile division expected to be greater than one billion pounds.
Iconic car brand ‘on brink of collapse’ as ‘bosses warn company has just 12 months to survive’
ONE of the world’s largest car manufacturers reportedly could go under within 12 months if it doesn’t receive support.
The firm is looking to sure up its future by growing a partnership with its former rival after the reported collapse of a three-way alliance.
Nissan was one-third of a strategic deal with Mitsubishi and Renault to share financial backing and expand all their markets in Europe, Japan and the US.
The agreement dates back to 1999 but now could be on the brink of collapse.
A report from the Financial Times cites two anonymous “senior officials” at the firm suggesting that Renault is looking to reduce its financial stake in the Japanese carmaker.
The withdrawal of funding means, according to the same sources, that Nissan could require support from the Japanese or US governments within the next year just in order to stay afloat.
One of the officials said: “We have 12 or 14 months to survive.
“This is going to be tough.
“And in the end, we need Japan and the US to be generating cash.”
Nissan has already cut 9,000 jobs across its global operation, while its CEO Makoto Uchida took a 50% pay cut in an economy drive.
The business is working through an emergency recovery plan, which will see it cut output by 20% and slash around £2bn in costs.
Its struggles have partly been blamed on the lack of a strong hybrid lineup, which has helped rivals like Toyota and Honda through the global collapse in EV sales.
In a press conference earlier this month, Mr Uchida said: “This has been a lesson learned and we have not been able to keep up with the times.
“We weren’t able to foresee that hybrid electric vehicles and plug-in hybrids would be so popular.”
Nissan’s original plans to merge with Honda emerged in December last year but issues meant these never evolved to a full-blown deal.
If they had combined forces, the new carmaker would be the third-largest in the world by sales volume, after Toyota and Volkswagen.
There have also been fears Nissan’s difficulties could lead to the closure of its enormous factory in Sunderland.
Former chief operating officer Dr Andy Palmer has since called the Japanese car giant’s shaky future “extraordinary” after it was the first to launch a mass-market EV.
He also insisted Nissan would be “mad” if it pulled out of the UK and called on the industry to use its lobbying powers to request grants from government.
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