There’s been some shocking rumors about Nissan circulating in the past week or so. According to The Financial Times, an anonymous senior official from the company said that Nissan has about “12 or 14 months to survive.” Sales have been plummeting, key models have not been updated for years, and Renault is said to want to divest from its ownership. It’s almost impossible to imagine that the storied marque of Silvia, Skyline, and Z could go bankrupt in a year.
How can Nissan be saved?
The most entertaining comment by next week will receive a prize. Scroll down to see the winner of last week’s QotW, “What indispensable items are in your toolbox?“.
The comments this week scared up some truly practical suggestions. In particular, Nihonnotekko alerted us to a handy (no pun intended) tool that we didn’t know existed, a vintage Snap-On palm-fit ratchet that just happens to be shaped like a rotary engine rotor. Other must-have tools included Land Ark‘s trim pullers, StreetSpirit‘s sheetmetal snips, Nigel‘s car ramps, and Negishi no Keibajo‘s Aerokroil penetrating oil. We’ve never tried that brand, but we’ll give it a shot once our WD-40 can runs out.
For those on the go Mr. Michael E. Mc Donald‘s portable air compressor for tires is a good call, as is Ian G.‘s portable jump starter and Michael Jue‘s AAA card.
As for the humorous responses, Lakdasa‘s Jeremy Clarkson-brand hammer is a good one. Lee L‘s arsenal of various-sized bolts, common fuses and extra 10mm sockets is both practical and funny. The people’s choice goes to crank_case‘s teakettle, and that probably would have won had it not been for a late entry dark horse.
The winner this week was LiouxLioux, who dispensed with all the physical tools and went straight to where you often end up anyway:
Sometimes YouTube, sometimes a rectangle of plastic with a bunch of numbers on it.
Omedetou, your comment has earned you a set of decals from the JNC Shop!
the industry is in a unique place at the moment. What made them successful in the first place? Only they have that answer, only Nissan can tell us this; but from a consumer perspective, it’s hard to deny the success they have achieved historically…but not really in the last decade as they have made cars that try fit every market trend, and do nothing exceptional. They need to re-visit their successes and analyse this in great depth. Maybe they need to concentrate on lift trucks, maybe they need to make another 510. Nissan has been successful in creating a market more than catering to one. An old saying is “a Camel is a Horse designed by committee” Personally, I think they need less committees,
Holden to the rescue 🤣.
Once upon a time when holders had nissan motors in them along came a winner.
Sometimes bankruptcy is not a bad thing. It offers an opportunity for a company to get out from under its debt, and offers an opportunity for a new owner to swoop in and create a new future. It is a haphazard automotive landscape right now with electrification and autonomy making the future very hard to predict. I do not believe there is an answer to this question that does not involve a roll, or multiple rolls, of the dice. At the very least I think it is time for Nissan to bury the Infiniti brand. It has never been able to compete with Lexus or Acura in prestige or sales. It does nothing but draw resources away from designing better Nissan products.
Easy! Take a year off from building cars. Put out an ad for the company’s new identity that makes no sense whatsoever. Change the company logo to something like niS$@n. Show off some obviously never-to-be-produced design concepts. [fill in the part later] Profit!
Like all companies, you start small, and grow big when you become successful. “Grow big” as in reach out to a wider range of audience / customers, trying to satiate everyone. You diversify, and get an idea of stronger products vs weaker products.
Nissan’s strong sales, here in USA, come from their SUVs and Altima (still surprisingly). The Z, GTR, those are meant to larger provide as brand image and less as money makers. At this point the GTR is very long in the tooth, and I don’t think its replacement will succeed, despite recent media images. The Z will stick around, but I don’t expect much updates for the foreseeable future. The Maxima has already been discontinued, and even though the intraweb says there’s a 2026 model coming, I doubt that’ll come to fruition.
I think Nissan might need to just, in addition to cut jobs, quietly close up Infiniti (you had a good run, but no point in polishing a turd at this point) and focus on strengthening its core. I remember a Nissan / Infiniti commercial where the sales points were Apple Carplay and USB jacks in the back, not much else; that’s just depressing. Nissan might want to remove the Titan as well and keep the Frontier. Get rid of the Murano, as its strong point WAS the exterior styling, which has basically become diluted now. The Leaf is long overdue for redesign, but maybe the Ariya is its replacmeent, so get rid of that as well.
This reduction would be necessary because the products mentioned have largely become forgotten nowadays, and no point in soldiering on. The Z will need to stay, as its disappearance could create a lot of fear for consumers, and further sour the company’s image. Think Ford.
I don’t think Nissan is in a state to try and be jack-of-all-trades. We enthusiasts love to think about the Silvia, Skyline, Z, those cars, but we need to remember that those were from a different era, not one where Nissan can really play right now.
I just came across and article stating that Infiniti and Nissan dealerships are going to merge into one. Is that like how Ford / Lincoln / Mercury had shared dealerships back in the day?
I don’t think Nissan will go down like Mitsu in the US, but man, it’s sad to see the company this weak.
It’s easy really, build cars that people want to buy, not an entire line of drab, out of date cars only good enough for rental fleets. And please, not another Z that is just a facelift of the 370.
Very simple. Take a page out of Infiniti’s playbook and create new, illogical names to replace the recognized names. Start with your brand defining model first, then work your way down. For example, instead of Nissan Rogue, call it Nissan Pope. Nissan Altima should be called Nissan Cali, etc. You get the point.
Then, foster a revolving door culture in the org to keep generating new ideas, but don’t implement them, EVER. This way, you ALWAYS have new ideas to look at.
Having owned 3 Nissans, I REALLY hope someone can fix its issues. I’m praying for a new Xterra or a new mid-size body-on-frame SUV like the R51 Pathfinder to upgrade to from my current R51 Pathfinder.
Buy Nissans instead of Hondas. But you won’t…
I would restructure. Most major companies are all fighting over the dollars of the lowest common denominator, trying to appeal to as many buyers as possible in order to capture the most market share they can. However, that results in products that are a soulless shadow of what they could’ve been. I would want Nissan to restructure to where they could be profitable at a much lower car volume, and target buyers with needs that aren’t being served. Focus on small, lightweight, affordable vehicles that are incredibly basic and easy to maintain and work on. Imagine a sporty 2000-ish pound car with a 180hp na 4-cylinder, a basic 4×4 that is stripped down but capable of traversing anywhere in the back country, or a light-duty pickup truck that is sub-$25K.
This is a formula for disaster. Look at what sells well, fully optioned, well made, vehicles. At least in North America it has been proven time and again that stripper models at low cost don’t sell.
Even on one of the most affordable vehicles today (Ford Maverick), the best selling trim is the top of the line Lariat, which goes to show that despite starting under $30k, most people just don’t prefer a basic vehicle anymore. Also, basic vehicles need to sell in large volumes to be profitable because automakers can’t justify charging more for manual seats or a mirror that doesn’t automatically dim itself, for example.
I’m admittedly talking without any facts or figures here, but it seems like a lot of times when there are base models, they are hard to find on the lot. Because the manufacturers make more of the higher trims.
Buyers are impatient and overpay to get what’s readily available.
Then manufacturers can say buyers don’t want cheap base models.
Then manufacturers discontinue cheap base models and rake in more profits.
I was thinking the same. Basic, reliable, lightweight fun car, but I’m probably in the minority on this. My normie friends just want whatever is the latest fad marketing is pushing…mostly EV’s and hybrids. They don’t realize long-term, these cars might cost you more money due to expensive battery replacement. It’s a sad state today where small basic cars don’t sell partly because people are heavier and won’t be comfortable in a small car. Also, people today are more into showing off fancy cars to impress others.
Really seek out what mid to lower income people need. If there’s one enduring trait that people will actually buy are vehicles with simpler forms with good utility. Toyota abandoned the Scion concept. Kia raced in to grab the Xb market. Fiat grabbed the iQ market. I truly believe Nissan can pull off a sub-brand of good honest cars for people without them getting in horrendous debt. I think they can do it better. A sub-brand called Datsun. Simple quirky cars, Scion style marketing & no BS sales pricing. Target the grown ups tired of rental scooters who need urban mobility. A Datsun “Five-10” & “Sunny” (iQ & Xb equivalent respectively). When they get their own office, they’ll move up to a Nissan Cedric!
A company that has has, sadly lost its way. Perhaps the best option would be to transfer the manufacturing site to a Chinese EV manufacturer?
I thought we did basically this same question about 12 months ago? Plus ça change.
If the current model range is not selling, then you can’t keep doing that same thing. On the other hand, you need to look around the market and see what is selling, and draw some smart conclusions from that.
Right now, it is true that the average car/truck selling in North America is not a stripper, and is not cheap. That is also down to who the average buyer is. The typical person buying a car is much older than they used to be, reflecting the general struggle for affordable living for the “millenial” and younger generations.
Can Nissan compete selling better cars to older buyers? No. They had that chance and blew it. They’ve never been successful at filling that segment, and cannot afford to screw up chasing it again.
So, what’s left? The Nissan name is associated with bad life choices, the Infiniti name with “discount faux luxury.” At this point, the names are toxic, the model line is toxic, and the market segments they are in are toxic for them. We all already know what Nissan is in North America, Japan, and Australia. Nissan are a non-factor in Europe, and marginal in the rest of the world. So what’s left?
There is one opportunity:
Younger people do want/need cars. But aside from some men who cannot stop making financially disasterous choices on leases for large trucks, the general market does not really provide much for them. There are Corollas, Civics, CR-Vs, and RAV-4s, but nothing really desireable, and nothing that lets them feel like they’re getting ahead of the game by having something which is financially advantageous. Younger consumers are also more EV positive, and willing to take a chance on them. I was also struck recently that many in that demographic were put out by increased tariffs on Chinese EVs, because they saw those cars as their only gateway to getting a vehicle that both matched their desire to have transport, and not burn the planet down. They know those Chinese EVs were cheap. But that was the point. They wanted a cheap EV.
I think that’s Nissan’s only play. Nissan have factories in the EU, in Japan, and in North America. They are inside the “tariff wall” that is going up via the idea of “friend-shoring” that many countries are aligning behind. That’s Nissan’s only edge right now. What Nissan needs to do is go in on replacing that market niche for cheap EVs that the Chinese want to fill, but won’t be allowed to for geo-political reasons. It’s a limited market, and is not going to be glamourous. But doing for EVs what Dacia did for Renault-Nissan in Europe is probably the most viable path on the table. And between the Leaf, ZEOD RC, and IDx concepts, there is a heritage there.
Just use one powertrain, with maybe an optional second motor for an up-trim AWD model. Use one parts bin of standard stuff for all the electronics, all the switches, screens, seats and whatnot. Go bananas on bang for the buck, and remove every annoyance possible so they don’t feel like econo-boxes while also minimizing frills that drive up cost. Build 2, maybe 3 SUVs, one sedan, and one el camino rip-off using the same package. Literally one sausage, different lengths. Perhaps do a b-, c-, and d- segment crossover, one c-segment sedan, and a c-or d-segment “pick-up”. Don’t use alphabet soup naming schemes. Maybe use numbers? The crossovers could be 420 (pun intendend), 520, and 620. The sedan can be the 510, the pick-up the 530. Nissan stylists are pretty good, so they can stay and give them a unified look. Then market the heck out of it talking about the price and how it’s a smart buy. Get “influencers” to talk about how it was a steal. Get them to go on Joe Rogan and talk about how “under-consuming” by buying stuff like this is smart because it gives a middle finger to “the system” that keeps in you debt and unable to be independent. Be utterly ruthless in flipping the narrative. But don’t call them Nissans. The brand is worthless so throw it away. Call them Datsuns. And chop the entire company doing everything else.
It will be ruthless, heartbreaking, and anger everyone who loves what Nissan have done. But it might be the only way to survive into the future. You need to get there before anyone else does, and do what they are unwilling to do. Because Nissan have shown they cannot do what everyone else does well enough to survive.
Build quirky, entry level cars under a sub-brand. Toyota abandoned the Scion business model with the Xb & iQ. Kia promptly came in with the Soul & Fiat with the 500.I am confident Nissan can do it better. Basic cars that offer decent utility without going into horrendous debt. No dickering pricing & sales. Offer an iQ & Xb equivalent under a “Datsun” sub-brand & name them “Five-10” & “Sunny” respectively. Safe, very basic, DOT compliant cars with absolutely no frills. Let the aftermarket personalize them.
As stated by others, drop the Infiniti brand, and narrow down their offerings.
The Titan is a flop, regardless of the Cummins partnership, the design is laughable at best.
The Altima has been a timeless heap of transmission issues and has become the the “thot-mobile.” Granted, most of which are poorly maintained (if at all) and don’t pose well for the image of the customer base.
Nissan has never been known for trucks (in the US market) with the exception of the Pathfinder and Xterra, which were both great staples for the US market.
I’m not sure if their “roots” are even attainable anymore, so a drastic re-brand and redesign of a few key vehicles would be the best course of action.
The R35 sadly, as great as it was, was the same from 2007 – 2024. I don’t imagine those sales numbers continued to improve, and that’s a very long run to rely on one car to carry your brand.
Dial it back to 1 sports car offering, limit production.
Offer 2-3 economical cars such as the Leaf, Sentra, Maxima (my preference)
Offer 2-3 Cross-over /SUV
Maybe temporarily switch focus on the SE Asian market? Mitsubishi might help with that, as they have some factories there. People in Thailand and Indonesia for example absolutely adore pickup trucks and body on frame SUVs, so a Navara and XTerra successor would both fill in that niche perfectly
Add some small cars like a new Micra and Almera/Sunny in both sedan and hatch options, plus crossovers of the samey size.
See if all of that sells well, export some to Europe and North America if there’s demand, don’t forget about hybrid options
Again as said above, Infiniti gets axed. They never did anything better than the Euros or even Lexus/Acura did and lacked a truly interesting car in the lineup like Acura’s NSX (the Q50 Eau Rouge could’ve become one but it stayed a concept)
The answer should be entertaining, not serious, thought-out rescue plans for Nissan. Just saying…
Produce cars that are objectively better than their counterparts. I haven’t seen a Nissan win a comparison of any vehicle type in years. If you can’t beat the competition in quality, performance, reliability, or price, than why would anyone buy it?
Now i was not around for the 70’s, 80’s or even most of the 90’s for that matter but 70’s and 80’s nissan had the L-series in every flavour under the sun, that would be a good start.
An engine that could be had in every Nissan from the lower end hatchback to light trucks all the way up to the GT-R all featuring the same block in different states of tune.
displacement ranging from 1.2 litres up to 2 litres and a hybrid system.
move towards exclusively RWD and AWD hybrid drivetrains to fill the gap BMW left.
focus on affordable and simple first, keep the model range limited to different vehicles on one or two platforms.
NEO-S platform
– bluebird (4 door sedan/wagon)
– silvia (2 door brz/miata contender)
NEO-Z platform
– Fairlady (the Z car)
NEO-E platform
– cherry (a compact EV offering styled after the cherry coupe)
My lazy ass would appreciate a roadster with resurrection of the Type R engine [1600 4 banger not the i600 510 engine] and maybe God forbid a BW M35 transmission, Sneaky way to insure future support for my RL411.
My 1967 RL411 still works after all these years. Why can’t NISSAN do that well today? The BW M35 is still in use in Europe for example, Some things have a life of their own [maybe due to good design ?]
I had started writing a long comment but I lost it, so here is a shortenet version.
Do not kill Infiniti, they spend money and time building it, but they need to be realist and bring it down a notch. It is japanese Buick, japanese Mercury. Close their dealerships and bring them back in the Nissan showrooms, they are just euro- and japanese-market cars with shiny badging, they must not cost a lot to create!
What is hurting them, and I hate myself for saying this, is their resistance to SUVify everything. Do not invent new names, keep the ones people know. We see a Corolla Cross that could be the regular corolla in a generation or two, we might see the comeback of the Civic Wagovan to SUVify this one too in coming years, and the Sentra was, at time, a coupé, a sedan, a fastback, a station wagon, why not a raised family hatchback? And people seeing it will say “Oh, this is a Sentra!” instead of “What was it called again? Meh whatever”. The Micra instead of the JukeKicks, the Sentra Rogue, the Qashqai sold great for a time, just bring it back, Altima could be a highlanderseque thing and the original 4DSC, the Maxima, will become the 4 door sports… CUV. They kind of invented the market for the sporty SUV with the Murano in 2002 and the FX35 in 2003, the year which also gave us the Porsche Cayenne! What happened, the Murano became the highlanderesque people-mover, but with a name that makes family car buyers turn away, and a look that makes sporty car buyers turn away.
Anyway, What I suggest could be seen as ballsy… Bring back Carlos Ghosn! He took Nissan while on a downward spiral and made a powerhouse out of it! By killing cool cars, yes, but also by bringing SUV that people bought. Nissan was growing up to the point when he was ousted in 2018 and then some othey key people left for others automakers, like Hyundai that is absolutely making bank right now where I live. Ghosn for president!
I’ve actually found a Z below MSRP. trying to get to the last one at the price
Well it now seems the answer is the Honda Motor Company.