Clock's ticking for Nissan boss Uchida to show he has a plan

If what they say in this article is true then Nissan needs to start looking for a new CEO. No one that they hire will be able to come in and just turn things around. If Nissan can be turned around, it will take time. Won't happen this year and maybe not next year.

Clock's ticking for Nissan boss Uchida to show he has a plan

So what's the plan?

Puppet, he is not in control, just the fall guy. If he does well expect him to be kicked out.

Lol it feels amazing to be right about incompetence.

Nissan's troubles will forever be framed in the context of Ghosn's "aggressive and poorly executed global expansion" plan. It may have been Ghosn's plan, but I don't think he can be blamed for the poor execution of it as he wasn't CEO at the time. Nevertheless, for Nissan execs, it's useful not only from a face-saving standpoint, but also to hide the fact that they neither have a plan, nor the business sense to formulate one. However, I'm sure they're pretty good at the bowing and meishi exchanging and kissing arse routine - all very important for strategic planning and management!

Under Carlos Ghosn Nissan & Renault were prospering. Now, both companies have issues. Prior to Mr. Carlos Ghosn both companies were losing money and were making low quality product. He fixed it. Japan and France should be grateful. God bless Mr. Carlos Ghosn with His mercy.

Here is a plan. How about just making a good looking dependable and affordable car.

Here is another plan. Get on your knees and beg Carlos to come back and rescue Nissan again for the second time. It must be televised on national television in Japan, France, Lebanon, Brazil and the US. Even better commit hari-kari on national television for defaming this man .

what Numan said.

Make better cars.  Make more of them. Sell them.  Get rid of some of the useless layers of middle management.  Exit the various "alliances" and focus on your own company.

The whole Ghosn debacle has damaged them but they make some good cars and are quite up with hybrid and electric car tech.

Uchida replaced Saikawa, who resigned in September after admitting to being improperly overpaid. His appointment was contentious, with some members of the board's six-strong nomination committee pushing for Seki or Gupta, according to two of the sources.

This is what it's really about! Saikawa's good old boys club expected to be in control but consider it a "betrayal" that Uchida was brought on instead. He probably realizes the current strategies are doing nothing he needs time to create a plan to right the ship, but I'm sure those that feel they have been "wronged" at his appointment are already setting him up to fail and giving him unrealistic expectations.

Reconcile with Ghosn and let him run the company again. Once Ghosn is successful, ask a ninja to do the job you failed before. Hahaha

Unfortunately, Nissan is a runaway train headed for a void and there doesn't seem to be anyone to stop it, divert it, or build a bridge across the void.

I want to be clear. Nissan had issues before the whole Ghosn takedown began. I am under no illusions that Ghosn, together with the rest of the Nissan management team, could have successfully addressed the issue.

However, I believe Ghosn had a plan, which was reliant upon more closely integrating Nissan and Renault, allowing them to address some of these issues. With Mitsubishi as a useful member of the alliance.

Ghosn's removal shattered that. Which appears to have been the intent. Nissan and Renault are now, essentially, independent entities. With no senior management involved in day-to-day management straddling the companies. Again, as J management and J bureaucrats intended.

And THAT has destroyed the original Renault investment thesis. When Renault invested in Nissan, it did so on the basis that their people would be installed. Ghosn and his group of seconded Renault executives.

So, for the first time in 20 yeas, there are no Renault senior executives involved in day-to-day Nissan management. None.

Which means. An international strategic alliance burdened by all of the baggage of such an alliance, but without any of the benefits.

They sit in the cursed netherworld.

Renault either needs to insist on installing senior management into Nissan yet again, or behave as a ruthless financial investor, teaming up with other institutional investors to hold Nissan's J management's feet to the fire.

In my personal view, Nissan is dead if it tries to operates independently. And, unfortunately, that is exactly what the J management is trying to do. Uchida has no ability to negotiate anything with Renault. So, it will be Nissan and Renault doing their own things, with window dressing cooperation for show.

Nissan is doomed.

Nevertheless, for Nissan execs, it's useful not only from a face-saving standpoint, but also to hide the fact that they neither have a plan, nor the business sense to formulate one. However, I'm sure they're pretty good at the bowing and meishi exchanging and kissing arse routine - all very important for strategic planning and management!

Have you and the others making similar comments actually looked at the names in Nissan top management?

https://www.nissan-global.com/EN/COMPANY/PROFILE/EXECUTIVE/details.html

Nissan top management has numerous gaijin of various nationalities. Executives with names like Kent O'Hara or Gianluca De Ficchy may not fit your model.

I suspect the author of this story went straight to Toyota/Honda and ask them what they thought Nissan needed. Toyota etc.. basically gave back a question for an answer, 'what's Nissan's plan?'

Even if Uchida had a fool proof plan, OK'ed by the board, would they release it to the public? I doubt it.

The whole industry is on the cusp on transformation, whether it's private car ownership, or propulsion, or engines, or source of energy...it's a guessing game.

BUT, Nissan does have track record of picking the right horse (albeit sometime a few years ahead of mass market timing), so...

BTW, lookout for commercialized version of the IMk concept car, to me it ticks almost all boxes for a clean, green, private mobility solution.

What's missing from all this discussion - THE CARS

Ghosn had a plan - to move towards all-electric vehicles. The Leaf is without doubt a world leader in this field. Unfortunately, battery technology is still too expensive. That is why the best Nissan car you can buy right now, and the best-selling car in Japan, is the Note e-power, an electric car with a series-hybrid drivetrain. That means you get all the advantage of an electric car - phenomenal acceleration, one-pedal stress-free driving - but with an on-board gasoline-powered generator.

Nissan currently sells over 40 different models (although a few are manufactured by Mitsubishi or Renault). Reduce that to a dozen or so models, and fit them all with e-power. And sack all the executives who can talk for more than ten minutes without mentioning Nissan's cars and how good they are .....

He doesn’t have a plan...better ask help from Ghosn!!!

We all know someone who can fix this for you, Nissan.

Nissan seriously stuffed themselves up. Now, they are leaderless and grasping at straws. They need Carlos to fix what they have already ruined.

All I can add is that someone spent a lot of money, had a great time and it wasn't me.

And sack all the executives who can talk for more than ten minutes without mentioning Nissan's cars and how good they are ....

Better start with Benz exec first then, especially if you want to compare performance, likes for likes.

Nissan Navarra, Nissan dealers can't get enough of them to sell. MB X-Class can't sell'em, or is that people don't want them, despite Benz 'enhancements' (LOL), and now discontinued.

Nissan seriously stuffed themselves up. Now, they are leaderless and grasping at straws. 

This is just what happened just before went to Nissan decades ago.

Japan still stuck in the dream of industrial supremacy when most of East Asia and Southeast Asia were ravaged by conflicts. Now, China utterly destroyed them, South Korea and Taiwan surpassed them and even Vietnam is following up soon. Nissan is the epitome of such disease.

The old boys of Saikawa's club invoke the nationalist agenda to organize a coup against Carlos Ghosn who is the solution for years of Nissan stagnation. Ghosn brought the idea of modern business to Japan, yet the Japanese crucified him without hesitation. If this continues, Nissan may not survive in the next 2-3 years as Ghosn predicted.

Sue Ghosn for 10 billion dollars!

Thats common sense...why would any MB buyer pay a high preimium for a re badged Navara ute ?

Exactly, why then would Benz go through the excercise in the first place? Only to show that likes for likes Nissan does a better job. Or that Renault is better at 'enhancement' selling rebadged Nissans.

2,339,562 units delivered worldwide

This includes 420,000 from its separately run Vans division which made a $3.4 loss.

Without the vans division Bmw would have been ahead in a likes for likes comparison. Benz also announced a massive dividend cut (to $1.1 billion down from previous year $3.8 billions).

https://www.autonews.com/automakers-suppliers/daimler-cuts-dividend-free-cash-costly-ev-shift

It's not surprising Benz has a new CEO.

nissan have to shut down, thats all.

The role of CEO is a thankless task, and a sure fire path to bring your lifetime employment to a screaming halt.

No-one inside Nissan can fix Nissan. An outsider on a fixed term contract with clear KPIs set by the board is the only option. Existing employees simply cannot make the tough decisions.