Nissan CEO Makoto Uchida officially steps down

Nissan announced on Tuesday that CEO Makoto Uchida would step down, a move that follows the failure of merger talks with rival Honda.

Troubled takeover

Ivan Espinosa, who will take the top job from April, told reporters he wanted to continue Uchida’s work “to help Nissan shine again”.

“I sincerely believe that Nissan has so much more potential than what we are seeing today,” Espinosa said, adding that he would work “closely with our talented team worldwide to bring stability and growth back to the company”.

Nissan says it expects an annual loss of more than $500-million this financial year, after announcing thousands of job cuts and reporting a 93% plunge in first-half net profit.

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Moody’s has downgraded Nissan’s credit rating to junk, citing its “weak profitability driven by slowing demand for its ageing model portfolio”. Fitch and S&P Global Ratings have also downgraded it to a speculative category.

Last month, Nissan and Honda said they were scrapping merger talks that would have created the world’s third-biggest auto company by unit sales behind Toyota and Volkswagen.

The discussions, seen as a way to catch up to Tesla and Chinese firms on electric vehicles, are believed to have unravelled after Honda proposed making Nissan a subsidiary instead of an initial plan to integrate under a new holding company.

However, media reports have since said Honda could be prepared to revive negotiations under a different Nissan boss.

Honda’s president Toshihiro Mibe has said the two automakers would continue to seek “synergy” through a strategic partnership announced in August that also includes Nissan’s other partner, Mitsubishi Motors.

‘Real car guy’

Espinosa joined Nissan Mexico in 2003 and held posts in Southeast Asia before becoming a director for Mexico and Latin America in 2010.

“Given that I am unable to gain the confidence of some of our employees, and as the board made a request, I concluded that… making a fresh start will be in the best interests of Nissan,” Uchida said.

He described Espinosa as a “real car guy” who is “still in his 40s and full of energy”.

“I am counting on him to overcome the difficulties and strongly drive Nissan to the future,” Uchida said.

Partnership back on?

The Nikkei Business weekly magazine, citing unidentified Nissan sources, has reported Nissan would likely re-consider investment from Honda under its new leadership, but “not in the form of becoming its full subsidiary”.

Nissan is also eyeing a four-way cooperation that would include Taiwanese chip behemoth Foxconn as well as Mitsubishi Motors, the Nikkei Business report said.

Foxconn is the world’s largest contract electronics manufacturer and builds devices for major tech companies, including Apple’s iPhones.

It has recently been pushing into areas ranging from electric vehicles to semiconductors and servers.

A source close to the matter told AFP on Tuesday that after the merger talks failed, Uchida had “called for opening new discussions with potential partners” to survive in the global market.

“For Nissan to become stronger, it must find a partner in the markets that are its priority,” the source said.

Tatsuo Yoshida, senior auto industry analyst at Bloomberg Intelligence, said that Nissan choosing a new CEO was a “key step” to address its urgent challenges.

“Espinosa’s product strategy expertise allows the firm to tackle its lack of competitive models. However, securing cash and financial stability remain critical, demanding swift action from the new leadership,” he said.

ALSO READ: Officially no more: Honda and Nissan calls off planned merger