The Japanese firm has today announced its three-year transformation plan, dubbed Nissan Next, during which it seeks to substantially reduce its fixed costs. As part of the plan it will close its Barcelona plant, resulting in the loss of around 2800 jobs.
The decision comes after Nissan reported its first annual operating loss for 11 years, and the biggest for two decades. The company ended the 2009 financial year with a net loss of 671.2 billion yen (£5.08bn) and an operating loss of 40.5bn yen. Sales decreased 10.6% globally from 5.52 million to 4.93 million units, with a slowdown in North America and Europe primarily to blame.
Nissan will reduce its production capacity by 20% over the next three years, also closing a plant in Indonesia. However, it intends to maintain Sunderland as a production base for Europe and 'leverage the Alliance'. That is part of a broader new Renault-Nissan-Mitsubishi Alliance agreement for the three firms to increase technology sharing by focusing on key markets and product lines. Although not confirmed, recent reports suggest the company plans to bring production of Renault models - namely the Kadjar and Captur SUVs - to Sunderland.Nissan will also focus on streamlining its global product line-up. President Makoto Uchida admitted that, along with factors such as fluctuating currencies, “the sales decrease continues to weigh on our profit as we suffer from an ageing portfolio and limit profit distribution from our efforts to normalise sales”.
As a result, the company will reduce its number of global models by 20% in three years - down from 69 to less than 55. Resources will be reallocated to globally competitive models, with the core segments named as the C-segment (Qashqai), D-segment (X-Trail), EVs and sports cars. It will also shorten its product life cycle so that the average age of its model portfolio is less than four years.
As part of the Alliance agreement, Nissan will focus its growth strategy on its most successful markets: Japan, China and North America. It will sustain its business in Europe, Latin America and Asia, although it will focus on its most successful models in each market. It will exit "some markets", but the firm hasn't specifically detailed which.
In Nissan's home market it intends to maintain a leadership in electrification and autonomous tech. By 2023 60% of its sales are expected to be of electrified models. The firm also intends to grow its market share in China with more EVs due to launch.
In the US the firm is "discovering the difficulty of restoring a brand that is damaged", Uchida says. It will reduce its focus on fleet sales, enhance its SUV and pick-up lineup, and improve inventory management.
Autocar
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