SMM: Nissan CEO Cheng Uchida (Makoto Uchida) said on Saturday (26th) that he plans to launch a series of new cars, including electric cars, in the growing Chinese market in the next five years to help Nissan return to profitability.
"the recovery in the Chinese market has been very significant and our main market segment has even returned to last year's level," Mr Uchida said. "I expect this rebound to continue, but we still need to watch for signs of possible problems."
By 2025, Nissan will launch nine new and redesigned electric vehicles, including plug-in electric vehicles and hybrid vehicles, in China, the world's largest car market, according to Masahei Yamazaki, president of Nissan China.
Mr Uchida's comments come at a time when investors are worried about Japan's second-largest carmaker. The company has warned that it could lose a record $4.5 billion this year as the pandemic hampers its turnaround.
Growth in the Chinese market is a key part of Nissan's efforts to recover from the hangover of its rapid expansion, which led to dismal profit margins and ageing investment portfolios. Nissan said this was the result of poor management of Carlos Ghosn (Carlos Ghosn), the company's former CEO.
Nissan has pledged to cut annual fixed costs by 300 billion yen ($2.84 billion) and focuses on three major markets: China, the US and Japan.
However, while the Chinese car market continues to recover strongly, Nissan's business shrank 2.4 per cent last month after moderate growth every month since April.
The shrinking sales contrast sharply with Japanese rivals Toyota (Toyota) and Honda (Honda). Sales at both companies have grown rapidly since the impact of the epidemic in China began to ease this summer.
In August, Toyota's sales in China increased by 27.2% compared with the same period last year, while Honda increased by 19.7%.
In an effort to boost its financial position, Nissan said this month that it planned to issue $8 billion in dollar-denominated bonds and was considering issuing euro-denominated bonds. "although Nissan still has a sufficient level of liquidity, we are still working to strengthen liquidity to ensure the smooth implementation of our business transformation plan," the company said. "
