Nissan Motor is appointing a new chief executive as it faces mounting challenges, including sluggish sales, unsuccessful merger negotiations, and the looming threat of tariffs in the United States.
On Tuesday, the Japanese automaker announced that Makoto Uchida, who has served as CEO since 2019, will step down. Ivan Espinosa, 46, a Nissan veteran with two decades of experience and the company’s chief planning officer, will assume leadership next month, the company said.
This leadership transition comes during a tumultuous period for Nissan, occurring midway through a restructuring effort and amid growing uncertainty in the auto industry.
At a news conference on Tuesday, Yasushi Kimura, chair of Nissan’s board of directors, acknowledged that Mr. Espinosa would face “a very challenging start” when he steps into the role on April 1. However, he emphasized that “given the industrywide challenges and Nissan’s performance, we believe it is necessary and appropriate to change the top management team.”
Mr. Uchida, 58, took over Nissan’s leadership during another turbulent time, following the ousting of Carlos Ghosn, the company’s former chairman, who was accused of financial misconduct. At the time, Nissan was grappling with plummeting profits and leadership instability. Mr. Uchida assumed the role after Mr. Ghosn’s immediate successor resigned over separate concerns related to his pay.
Before leading Nissan globally, Mr. Uchida headed its operations in China. As CEO, he restructured the automaker’s long-standing alliance with the French car manufacturer Renault and focused on boosting profitability by reducing the aggressive sales incentives that had driven growth under Mr. Ghosn.
For a period, his strategy appeared to be working. Nissan posted strong profits in 2022 and 2023, benefiting from a post-pandemic increase in demand and a favorable exchange rate. However, the company’s aging vehicle lineup struggled to keep pace with changing consumer preferences, particularly in the growing hybrid and electric vehicle markets.
This issue has been especially pronounced in China, where homegrown electric vehicle manufacturers are increasingly outperforming smaller foreign brands.
Makoto Uchida (Photo: Nissan)Nissan’s vehicle sales in China fell by more than 9% over the nine months leading up to December. The company has also struggled in other markets, prompting it to lower its profit forecast three times in the current fiscal year.
In November, Mr. Uchida unveiled a restructuring plan that included cutting global production capacity and laying off thousands of employees. At the time, he acknowledged Nissan’s failure to adapt to the rapidly changing automotive landscape and took personal responsibility by voluntarily reducing his salary by 50%.
A potential turnaround opportunity emerged late last year when Nissan explored a merger with Honda. If successful, the deal would have created one of the largest automotive groups in the world. However, negotiations collapsed in less than two months after Nissan rejected Honda’s proposal that it become a subsidiary of the rival automaker.
The failed merger talks were officially called off last month—the same day Nissan reported a sharp decline in sales and an almost 90% drop in operating profit, down to $435 million for the nine months ending in December.
Reflecting on his tenure, Mr. Uchida acknowledged on Tuesday that, despite his efforts to improve Nissan’s performance, both internal and external stakeholders had begun questioning his role in the company’s stagnation.
“I deeply regret that I had to pass the baton to my successor in these circumstances,” Mr. Uchida said.
As the incoming CEO, Mr. Espinosa will not only inherit Nissan’s existing challenges but also face emerging threats, including proposed tariffs from President Trump on vehicles imported from Japan, Canada, and Mexico.
North America remains Nissan’s largest market, and nearly one-third of the one million vehicles it sold in the U.S. last year were manufactured in Mexico.
During a hastily arranged news conference on Tuesday, Mr. Espinosa offered little detail about his plans for Nissan’s recovery, explaining that he had only just been informed of the board’s decision to appoint him as the company’s next chief executive.
What he does know, he said, “is that Nissan has so much more potential than what we are seeing today.” When asked about the possibility of revisiting merger discussions with Honda, he declined to comment, stating that his priority is “getting Nissan’s teams engaged.”
