AN ICONIC car brand reportedly on the brink of collapse would be “mad” to close down its huge UK factory, an ex-boss has said.
The Japanese car giant has a strong presence in the UK, with a manufacturing plant in Sunderland.
The iconic car brand launched the first mass market EV[/caption]
Nissan also has a technical centre in Cranfield, Bedfordshire, and a design studio in London.
But the firm has been battling falling sales in the US and China and has run into issues at their Sunderland plant, prompting concerns about its future.
Nissan is facing a make-or-break 12 months and reportedly could go under without much-needed support.
This comes as the UK announced its ZEV mandate, which requires car manufacturers to increase the number of EVs they sell or face paying hefty fines.
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.
Referring to its development of the first mass-market EV, he called the company “intellectual” but warned its biggest failings were its short-sightedness.
He told Car Dealer magazine: “‘It largely invented the mass-production EV but it’s ceded that to everybody else.
“So in many respects, what you find, is that Nissan is an intellectual company which is very good at developing stuff, but generally speaking is impatient and not committed to the long term.”
The Japanese car manufacturer has been dealt a series of blows over the last few months, including a failed merger with its rival Honda, which would have created the world’s third-largest automaker by sales.
Nissan and Honda would have used each other’s plants to build vehicles and create manufacturing capabilities that would rival Tesla.
The move would have seen Honda make a dramatic return to the UK, having closed its manufacturing plant in 2021.
But the talks grew complicated by growing differences on both sides, and soon “died a death”.
Earlier this month, Nissa also saw its shares plummet forcing it to plead for Elon Musk to come to the rescue.
Shares of Nissan Motor dropped by as much as 10 per cent, according to Bloomberg, leaving the manufacturing giant in the lurch.
It started to struggle after “not keeping up with the times” in terms of the soaring popularity of hybrid electric vehicles.
Nissan CEO Makoto Uchida said: “We weren’t able to foresee that hybrid electric vehicles and plug-in hybrids would be so popular.”
Nissan was part of an alliance with Mitsubishi and Renault, formed in 1999 but this partnership has already started to fall apart.
This three-way deal was set up so each company had the financial backing to expand into Europe, Japan and the US.
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.”
But according to Palmer Nissan has always hated being part of the Renault alliance and some parts of the company “were always looking for a reason to explode the alliance – and they did.”
The firm has already slashed 9,000 jobs globally and Uchida took a 50 per cent pay cut in a bid to keep the company afloat.
Nissan has also begun a huge overhaul of its leadership team. This started when it called time on Makoto Uchida’s stint as their CEO – with the car giant in the midst of a crisis.
According to reports, Uchida – who has come under fire after the Japanese marque failed to secure a much-anticipated merger with Honda – is to be replaced in the role by their chief planning officer, Ivan Espinosa.
Autocar reported the move came as part of a drive to “achieve the company’s short- and mid-term objectives while positioning it for long-term growth”.
The move is joined by a number of other top-level management changes, with Espinosa to take the reins from April 1.
