Nissan unveils four-year transformation plan – to cut production by 20%, reduce model range, focus on EVs

Nissan, which yesterday announced a net loss of 671 billion yen (RM27.1 billion) for the year that ended in March, has revealed a four-year restructuring plan in which it hopes to achieve a return to profitability by the end of fiscal 2023.

The plan will involve a series of cost-rationalisation and business optimisation measures, which will include streamlining unprofitable operations and surplus facilities. With the previously announced shuttering of its manufacturing operations in Indonesia, the company says it will now focus on Thailand as its production base for the ASEAN region.

It has also announced its intention to close its Spanish assembly plant in Barcelona, which if it goes through will result in the loss of 2,800 jobs. Elsewhere, the automaker will be exiting the South Korean market and will end the Datsun brand presence in Russia. It was also mentioned that there are plans to streamline operations in some ASEAN markets, but no specifics were indicated.

The plant closures will also see global production being reduced by 20% to around 5.4 million units a year, and the product line-up will also be streamlined by 20%, being trimmed from 69 to less than 55 models. The global workforce is also expected to be reduced, with the most recent report indicating that there could be up to 20,000 job cuts, making for a 15% reduction of its 139,000 global workforce.

This doesn’t mean that there won’t be new models – plans are afoot to introduce 12 models in the next 18 months. Some of these were teased by the company yesterday, and models inclued the 400Z, Navara facelift, X-Trail, Ariya, Qashqai, Note, Frontier and Terra.

Nissan said that it will be focusing on global core model segments including C and D segment vehicles, EVs as well as sport cars. Electrification will continue to be a core component of its strategy, the company stating it plans to expand its presence on this front and sell more than a million electrified vehicles by end of 2023.

In Japan, the company is aiming to launch two more EVs and four more e-Power vehicles, increasing its electrification ratio to 60% of sales. Other tech will also get a push – its ProPilot advanced driver assistance system is set to be introduced in more than 20 models in 20 markets, the aim being to equip more than 1.5 million vehicles with the system annually by the end of 2023.

The automaker will also work closely with its partners in the Renault-Nissan-Mitsubishi Alliance to share resources, including production, models, and technologies, and will be the reference for the alliance in Japan, China and North America.