Nissan invests in production to prepare for electric age

Buy their stock!

Yokohama-based Nissan, which makes the Leaf electric car, March subcompact and Infiniti luxury models, is eager to relay a message of innovation as it battles a serious risk to its reputation amid plunging profits and sales.

I agree that Nissan needs to do something- anything- to help it stand out from the pack. Their brand equity has taken such a hit that they can't sell cars just by saying "It's a Nissan" anymore. If this means going in on EVs more than competing Japanese automakers, it's a start. And production line improvements are the kind of things that can at least help the company's bottom line by reducing waste during production, even if the average consumer will never notice.

Another innovation involves programming a worker’s craftsmanship into robotics. The moves are so finely tuned in the automated sealing process that the delicate angles and touches of a human worker are duplicated.

For a mass-produced, mass-market vehicle, this is pointless. For human workers on the production line, working diligently and maintaining quality is an absolute must, but there's no room for "craftmanship": Workers have to consistently and reliably repeat the same process, over and over, without fail. There's no room for "delicate angles and touches" or improvisation here.

Nissan’s former Chairman Carlos Ghosn is awaiting trial on various financial misconduct allegations. Nissan has acknowledged failings in its corporate governance.

This article implies that it is Ghosn's fault for unproven misconduct.

Nissan's current financial problems are not because of Ghosn but because of the the actions of the people who colluded against him for their own personal gain (I.e. Saikawa).

The people trying to remove Ghosn got caught with their own hands in the cookie jar!