1 month ago
48
The executive board of embattled car brand Nissan has been moved around in a bid to arrest sliding sales and profits.
However, those reports have proven untrue – or Nissan has pivoted its plans – and Ma will now carry the title of Chairperson of the Management Committee for China, the world’s largest car market, starting in January.
Ma will continue to report directly to Nissan Chief Executive Officer (CEO) Makoto Uchida, with the brand saying his focus will be on “future strategy for the region and enhancing local operations”.
Replacing Ma in the CFO role is current Chairperson of the Management Committee for Americas, Jeremie Papin.
Papin brings over a decade of experience in investment banking and first joined Nissan in 2018, but also counts stints in various executive roles at the Renault-Nissan-Mitsubishi Alliance and Groupe Renault on his resume.
Nissan’s Chief Brand and Customer Officer (CBCO) and Chairperson of the Management Committee for Japan/ASEAN (Association of South East Asian Nations), Asako Hoshino, will also hand over commitments to the latter.
Taking Hoshino’s place will be Shohei Yamazaki, who is currently Chairperson of the Management Committee for China, and “will bring valuable insights” which will “help further strengthen Nissan’s presence in the region”, according to the brand.
According to Nissan, the aim is to “create a lean, flat structure that can respond flexibly and quickly to changes in the business environment”.
Nissan CEO Makoto Uchida said of the changes: “These leadership appointments will bring the necessary experience and urgency to the countermeasures we are taking to get the company back on track.
“With the support of our leadership team, we will carefully execute our turnaround actions to secure sustainable profits while focusing on future growth,” Uchida said.
Nissan has been scrambling to turn around its performance since announcing last month that it was entering “emergency mode” thanks to sliding sales in two of the world’s largest markets – China and the US.
Uchida himself voluntarily agreed to a 50 per cent pay cut and 9000 jobs were axed from Nissan’s global workforce as a result of the brand’s pre-tax profit declining 304 per cent this year in China and the US.
Nissan has revised its 2024 global sales forecast from 3.7 million to 3.4 million units.
Tung Nguyen has been in the automotive journalism industry for over a decade, cutting his teeth at various publications before finding himself at Drive in 2024. With experience in news, feature, review, and advice writing, as well as video presentation skills, Tung is a do-it-all content creator. Tung’s love of cars first started as a child watching Transformers on Saturday mornings, as well as countless hours on PlayStation’s Gran Turismo, meaning his dream car is a Nissan GT-R, with a Liberty Walk widebody kit, of course.
