Coronavirus Casualty: How Long Until Nissan Goes Belly Up?

As we've said many times before, Nissan didn't enter 2020 in a very strong position. It's been dogged by slowing sales, a scandal in the executive ranks, unclear brand identity in North America and an aging and uncompetitive car lineup. And that was all before... well, you know. Everything right now. Though some automakers like GM and Tesla managed to squeeze out some Q1 profits and decent sales for the early part of the year, every company is getting hammered as the quarantines and downturns continue.

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MDarringer - 5/13/2020 12:08:20 PM

+2 Boost

Nissan needs to get away from Renault at all cost.

PUGPROUD - 5/13/2020 12:58:57 PM

+4 Boost

Japanese government will step in and resolve tie up and then bail out Nissan...too big an employer to fail doctrine.

MDarringer - 5/13/2020 1:09:02 PM

+2 Boost

And an ultra smart move would be for Hyundai-Kia, or VW, or Ford to tie up with Nissan going forward.

Tiberius1701A - 5/13/2020 2:20:41 PM

0 Boost

'And an ultra smart move would be for Hyundai-Kia, or VW, or Ford to tie up with Nissan going forward.' ...or Mitsu..<sarc>

MDarringer - 5/13/2020 2:23:51 PM

+1 Boost

Indeed Mitsubishi is a boat anchor in far worse position than Nissan. The Japanese government needs to get both back, consolidate them into one company/brand, kill Infiniti, and find a partner fast.

Tarzan91303 - 5/13/2020 4:40:50 PM

+3 Boost

Nissan is already aligned with Mitsu and M/B, but owned by Renault. The logical step is for M/B to buy Nissan/Datsun. Datsun is still around in some parts of the world. And M/B already owns a small percentage of Mitsu, so a lot of collaboration (part sharing) could happen to cut costs. But I suspect Renault will run Nissan into the ground so they can get their own bailout from the French government. They have until the 4th quarter to phoenix themselves from the ashes, or its sayonara.

MDarringer - 5/13/2020 4:58:11 PM

+1 Boost

The Japanese government can actually intervene and expel Renault in the name of national security and they could do it with easy justification.

mre30 - 5/13/2020 5:27:15 PM

0 Boost

Both Infiniti and Renault need to die.

Japan should resurrect the whole Carlos Ghosn lurid drum case escape story domestically (which curiously has seemed to die down) and when the anti-French jingoism hits a fever pitch, as MD suggests, Renault should just be expelled from the alliance at a nominal cost.

Japan should REQUIRE France to either give them back Carlos Ghosn (image of French Special Op's troops storming Ghosn's Beirut mansion and stuffing him into a van) or else allowing Japan to 'buy out' (at a token price) Renault from Nissan. Maybe Japan can enlist Softbank (Mayoshi Son) to be the 'savior' which will let them save face from their terrible (WeWork and others) investments using a big government loan.

This needs to get personal between Japan and France over Carlos Ghosn. France will never hand him over and that strategy allows everybody to save face (which is what everybody wants).

edwardfrancis - 5/17/2020 11:19:23 PM

+1 Boost

I think we will ultimately learn that Japan let Carlos succeed in his escape. His detention was, for the first time, letting the international media see the injustices in the Japanese legal system.

malba2367 - 5/13/2020 6:00:08 PM

+5 Boost

Nissan will be bailed out by the Japanese government. If the coronavirus crisis causes insolvency in the industry I would l watch for the entire Japanese auto industry be consolidated in to two large automakers one led by Toyota and another led by a combined Honda and Nissan. The smaller makes will be folded into the others. Renault is in a bad spot too...they just don't have the scale to compete with VW and a combined FCA/PSA.