HomeCar NewsNissan may exit Europe to focus on the US, Japan and China

Nissan may exit Europe to focus on the US, Japan and China

Nissan states that the three-year plan is not part of cost-cutting but a strategy to regain market desirability

Japanese automaker Nissan Motor Co. is reportedly pulling back from European markets in order to focus on the US, China and Japan, reveals Reuters. The three-year “operational performance plan” is likely to be made public on May 28.

Nissan states that it is not a cost-cutting initiative but a well-planned strategy to regain market desirability in key regions. For instance, the brand’s excess focus on market share led to making the ‘Nissan’ brand cheaper in the US. Under the new plan, the company aims to garner “pricing, power and profitability”.

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Apparently, Nissan is rationalising its operations while reprioritising and refocusing business techniques to “plant seeds for the future”. Furthermore, Nissan will cut competition and expand cooperation with its alliance partners such as Mitsubishi and Renault to electrified or hybrid powertrains. A few officials at Nissan Motor Co. commented that the strategy also aims to fix the problems created by Carlos Ghosn (ex-chairman and CEO of Nissan) as part of his team’s aggressive expansion moves.

Renault Nissan India Plant.
Renault Nissan India Plant. File Photo.

Nissan’s new three-year plan is primarily led by Chief Operating Officer Ashwani Gupta. If everything goes in favour, Nissan will free resources to invest and concentrate on products and technologies in the three markets mentioned above. According to a senior official, Nissan will reduce R&D expenditure this year and use that savings to pump the previously-mentioned freed resources into its key products and markets.

People in the know-how shared that it would take at least two weeks to finalise the plan. The ongoing COVID-19 pandemic and its lockdown protocols is another challenge since the company has to anticipate the longterm impact caused by the outbreak. Experts predict that the entire fashion of buying a new car would change significantly even after dealerships are allowed to open — read more details.

In its final three years in Europe (the timeline is still subject to change), Nissan will try to boost sales of the Qashqai and Juke compact crossovers. Nissan is also working on the next-gen Patrol SUV for Africa and the Middle East while India will soon receive a subcompact crossover.

In the US market, a modern-day Nissan product’s model age is roughly five years. In order to lower this figure to three-and-a-half years, the Yokohama-based car manufacturer plans to introduce six new models in about three years. In China, Nissan will develop a range of market-specific products rather than bringing down some of its global models. For this, it will strengthen the partnership with Venucia (China-only automotive brand).

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SourceReuters