Declining profits, high-level changes, declining sales, factory shutdowns, tight alliances, and layoffs to survive. It seems that all the unfavorable factors for a company have happened to Nissan, but so far, Nissan has not come up with effective methods except for layoffs. And it is expected that the performance will continue to decline sharply this year. 2020 will usher in a new era. The auto industry is also undergoing comprehensive changes since its birth. The world's auto giants have established transformation strategies, cut their wrists to survive, and plan for a new decade, while the epidemic is raging around the world. At this time, this crisis of uncertainty has exacerbated the urgency of this change. "Starting 2020" launched by AutoR Zhijiao today launched "Starting 2020, Nissan's struggle to survive".
Article丨AutoR Zhijia Wang Shuoqi
Some people say that 2020 is a magical start, but the situation is even more severe for Nissan, which performs poorly in 2019.
was affected by the sudden epidemic. According to sales data released by Nissan China, the sales volume in the Chinese market in February 2020 was 15,111, a year-on-year decrease of 80.3%. The performance of
is not too bad, but for Nissan, it is considered a failure if the decline is at the industry average.
However, the more terrifying thing is not the sales volume, but the shutdown of the factory.
It is understood that Nissan has four factories in China, one of which is located in Xiangyang, Hubei, where the epidemic is severe. Since the outbreak of the new crown pneumonia, this factory has been closed. In addition, because the Japanese automaker supplies nearly 800 auto parts from Hubei Province, Nissan's plants in Japan cannot produce normally.
The latest news from the People's Government of Hubei Province shows that the resumption time of various enterprises in Hubei Province cannot be at least earlier than 24:00 on March 10, but as of now, there is still no clear resumption information.
Citibank said that the new crown pneumonia epidemic has caused a sharp decline in Nissan’s sales in the Chinese market. In addition, Nissan’s four factories in the Chinese market cannot produce normally. If these four factories cannot produce normally within two months, It is predicted that Nissan’s net profit for fiscal year 2020-2021 will be reduced by 35%
Affected by the shortage of parts supply, Nissan will shut down some production lines in Kyushu, southwestern Japan on February 14 and 17, and will suspend production again on the 24th. . In addition, Nissan's plants in countries such as Malaysia, the United States, the United Kingdom, India, Mexico, Russia and Spain have also been forced to stop production.
Nissan’s global layout is intended to allow factories located all over the world to withstand sudden regional crises. However, the outbreak of the global epidemic, coupled with its heavy dependence on Chinese parts, makes Nissan’s global distribution The factory is almost broken into pieces.
In addition, the auto tariffs that the UK may leave the European Union may also increase the pressure on Nissan’s performance, and may even trigger an existential crisis for European factories. Z2z
Nissan Motor Europe Chairman Fitch said at a press conference a few days ago that the company’s Sunderland plant in the UK is shrouded in a cloud of uncertainty. The company's models account for the majority of European sales, of which about three-quarters are exported to other EU countries. Z2z
Fitch said that if the United Kingdom fails to reach a free trade agreement with the European Union, a 10% tariff on cars and parts will not only lead to factory closures, but also affect Nissan's entire European strategy. "We will not be able to survive because we can't sell the car." In Spain, Nissan's Barcelona plant is also declining production. "This is a topic we are studying," Fitch said. Nissan has met with the Spanish trade union to explain the need to "re-examine our strategy in Europe, including the strategy in Barcelona."
It can be said that Nissan’s current situation has been described as embarrassed on all sides. In fact, the situation is far more serious than expected. The year-on-year decline in 2020 is serious. Don’t forget that the year-on-year data for 2019 is also down year-on-year.
According to Nissan’s fiscal third quarter (October-December) financial report for 2019 announced on February 13, its third-quarter operating profit was 23 billion yen, which was lower than the 59 billion yen estimated by analysts on average; sales The amount fell by 18% to 2.5 trillion yen, with a net loss of 26.1 billion yen (about 238 million US dollars). This is Nissan's first quarterly loss since March 2009.
Specific to the sales volume, Nissan will be in China in 2019The market, the U.S. market, the European market and the Japanese market have all experienced declines of 1.1%, 9.9%, 17.2%, and 7.8% respectively.
The troubled Nissan CEO Makoto Uchida confessed that "the sales decline in the United States and Europe is huge."
The market is worried about the establishment of an expanding trend of performance decline, and Nissan Motor’s stock price has fallen to its lowest level since July 2009. Following a 22% and 28% decline in 2018 and 2019, Nissan’s share price has continued to fall by more than 10% since 2020.
After Ghosn fled at the end of last year, Nissan is also undergoing subtle changes. The relationship between the three companies of the Renault-Nissan-Mitsubishi Alliance has become extremely tense. Under the current market downturn and the outbreak of the epidemic, the loosening of the relationship between the alliance companies is likely to hinder development. Z2z
Uchida Makoto said, "We are struggling and our partners are also struggling, but I believe that we can strengthen the alliance relationship. This is what I want to do and what I promise to do."
In order to improve performance and strengthen the alliance relationship, 2 At the beginning of this month, Nissan reached a new framework agreement with Renault and Mitsubishi to further strengthen the business model and organizational structure. It will take measures to promote resource sharing and help the three companies achieve effective improvement in competitiveness and performance. The medium-term strategic plan of the three member companies will be 2020 Also announced in May. With only the last two months left to formulate the strategy, its success will depend on whether Nissan Renault can end the tension in the alliance after Ghosn’s step down.
Nissan itself is also actively exploring the "slimming plan."
Nissan also announced that it will lay off 10% of its workforce worldwide, reaching 12,500 people, and it will be completed by March 31, 2023. The company also plans to streamline its product line, involving 60 models of Infiniti, Nissan and Datsun.
As of now, Nissan has announced that it will lay off 600 employees at the Barcelona plant, and further decisions may be made in the next few months.
It can be seen that although Ghosn has already left, Nissan’s strategy to deal with the crisis is still Ghosn’s most adept at integrating resources and layoffs. However, in the face of this crisis, whether the strategy of changing the soup without changing the medicine is feasible is still unknown. .
is also because of this unknown. On February 18, Makoto Uchida held a shareholder meeting for the first time and stated that "if the decline of Nissan cannot be reversed, I am willing to accept the fate of being fired." It can be said that the current Nissan is facing more The more severe situation in the past, at the key node where market performance and profits are more severe than the 2008 financial crisis, coincides with the global spread of the epidemic, and it happens that Nissan, including the United Kingdom, Hubei, and other important production areas, are all areas with severe epidemics. It added fuel to Nissan's crisis.
Although Nissan is actively responding, at present, apart from layoffs and optimization, there is no greater action. Zhijiajun believes that Nissan urgently needs a drastic reform and a tougher CEO to deal with the current situation.
If Li Bin is the worst person in 2019, then Nissan is the worst car company in 2020 under the same scale.
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