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The Star
01-07-2025
- Automotive
- The Star
Renault to report US$11.2bil loss on Nissan stake in first half
Nissan vehicles are displayed at the New York International Auto Show Press Preview in New York City, US, April 16, 2025. - Reuters PARIS: French carmaker Renault said on Tuesday it will report an extraordinary loss of about 9.5 billion euros ($11.2 billion) on its stake in Nissan Motor in the first half after changing the way it accounts for the investment. The change comes as the two companies loosen their ties and adjust a two-decade long partnership, with Renault gradually lowering its stake in the Japanese firm which is battling slumping sales and scrambling to boost cash. Renault owns 35.7% of Nissan, with 17.05% held directly and the rest through a trust. It said in the future, any change in the value of the holding would be directly recognised in equity and assessed based on Nissan's share price, with no impact on its net income nor on dividends it pays out. It added that there would be no change to operational projects and collaboration between the two firms. Renault, which reports its first-half results on July 31, is also seeking a new CEO, with current leader Luca de Meo due to depart on July 15 and later take the helm at luxury firm Kering. ($1 = 0.8483 euros) - Reuters
The Star
12-05-2025
- Automotive
- The Star
Nissan to cut over 10,000 more jobs, NHK reports
Nissan vehicles are displayed at the New York International Auto Show Press Preview in New York City, US, April 16, 2025. - Reuters TOKYO: Nissan Motor will cut more than 10,000 jobs globally, bringing the number of layoffs, including those previously announced, to about 20,000 or 15% of its workforce, Japan's public broadcaster NHK reported on Monday. Japan's third-biggest automaker is striving to make its business leaner and more resilient after weak sales in China and its biggest market the United States. Nissan declined to comment on the report. It is set to announce on Tuesday results for the business year that ended in March. It warned last month it would likely book a record 700 billion yen to 750 billion yen ($4.74 billion-$5.08 billion) net loss in that year due to impairment charges. The car maker missed out on the growing popularity of hybrid models in the United States and failed to capitalise on an early lead in electric vehicles there. It has also suffered in China, the world's biggest auto market, where it plans to launch some 10 new vehicles in the coming years to try to halt a slide in sales. CEO Ivan Espinosa, who took over from Makoto Uchida as chief executive last month, is restructuring Nissan's operations and has previously said the company was considering extra measures. Nissan, which had more than 133,000 staff as of March last year, announced plans last November to cut 9,000 jobs and reduce global capacity by 20%. It has also said it would close a plant in Thailand by June and shut two more plants that it has not identified. On Friday, it said it had decided to give up a plan to build a $1.1 billion factory, for which it was set to receive government subsidies, for EV batteries on Japan's southwestern island of Kyushu. Its weak performance forced it to cut its profit outlook four times for the financial year that just ended. ($1 = 147.7300 yen) - Reuters
The Star
12-05-2025
- Automotive
- The Star
Struggling Nissan to cut 10,000 more jobs: media
Nissan vehicles are displayed at the New York International Auto Show Press Preview in New York City, US, April 16, 2025. - Photo: Reuters file TOKYO: Nissan plans to cut 10,000 more jobs worldwide, Japanese media reported on Monday (May 12), a day before the struggling carmaker was expected to report a record annual loss of around US$5 billion. Public broadcaster NHK said the decision, in addition to a November announcement that it would slash 9,000 positions, means Nissan is now aiming to reduce its total workforce by approximately 15 percent. Nissan, whose mooted merger with Honda collapsed earlier this year, declined to comment on the reports which also appeared in the Nikkei business daily. The company -- one of the top 10 automakers by unit sales -- is heavily indebted and engaged in an expensive business restructuring plan. Like many peers, Nissan is finding it difficult to compete against home-grown electric vehicle brands in China, while its profits are now under further threat from US trade tariffs. The possible merger with Japanese rival Honda had been seen as a potential lifeline. But talks crashed in February after Honda proposed making Nissan a subsidiary instead of integrating under a holding firm. Then last month Nissan issued a stark profit warning, saying it expects an annual net loss of 700-750 billion yen ($4.8-$5.1 billion) for the 2024-25 financial year. Its previous worst full-year net loss was 684 billion yen in 1999-2000, during a financial crisis that birthed its rocky partnership with French automaker Renault. Nissan has since faced more speed bumps -- including the 2018 arrest of former boss Carlos Ghosn, who later fled Japan concealed in an audio equipment box. The automaker, whose shares have tanked nearly 40 percent over the past year, appointed a new CEO in March. Ratings agencies have downgraded the firm to junk, with Moody's citing its "weak profitability" and "ageing model portfolio". And this month Nissan shelved plans, only recently agreed, to build a $1-billion battery plant in southern Japan owing to the tough "business environment". - Tariffs threat - An additional headwind is the 25-percent tariff imposed by President Donald Trump on all imported vehicles into the United States. Of all Japan's major automakers, Nissan is likely to be the most severely impacted, Bloomberg Intelligence analyst Tatsuo Yoshida told AFP. Its clientele has historically been more price-sensitive than that of its rivals, he said. So the company "can't pass the costs on consumers to the same extent as Toyota or Honda without suffering a significant loss in sales units", he added. While Nissan's lacklustre electric car roster has failed to win over the Chinese market, the company recently announced investments to the tune of 10 billion yuan ($1.4 billion) in the world's second-largest economy. China's highly competitive EV market is the largest in the world, led by Shenzhen-based carmaker BYD. One potential solution for Nissan could be Taiwanese electronics behemoth Hon Hai, better known as Foxconn, which assembles iPhones and is expanding into cars. Foxconn said in February it was open to buying Renault's stake in Nissan, and this month it agreed in principle to develop and supply an EV model to Mitsubishi Motors, an alliance partner of Renault and Nissan. External help, Yoshida said, is "very much needed" for Nissan, which can no longer differentiate itself from its rivals by making internal efforts to save costs alone. - AFP
