Manufacturing · Profile from Manufacturing Research Companion: Companies, Strategic Moves, and Technical Studies
Nissan
The Yokohama carmaker that sold the first Datsuns in the US in 1958, opened one of the first Japanese transplant plants in Smyrna, Tennessee (1983), nearly went bankrupt in the late 1990s, was rescued by Renault (1999) and Carlos Ghosn's Revival Plan, launched the first mass-market battery-electric car of the modern era — the Leaf (Dec 2010), built in Smyrna with a $1.4bn US Energy Department loan — and then lost its way: years of volume targets and cost cuts left it with an ageing line-up, Ghosn's arrest on 19 Nov 2018 exposed an alliance held together by one man, merger talks with Honda (Dec 2024–13 Feb 2025) collapsed over Honda's proposal to make Nissan a subsidiary, and under CEO Ivan Espinosa (from 1 Apr 2025) the Re:Nissan plan is cutting vehicle plants from 17 to 10 and ~20,000 jobs by FY2027 (company, reported). Nissan lost ¥670.9bn in FY2024 and ¥533.1bn in FY2025 (year to Mar 2026) on revenue of ~¥12.01tn, and forecast a ¥20bn profit for FY2026 (company via press, May 2026). Its manufacturing story turns on cost cutting that hollowed out the product, alliance governance as a factor of production, and what US plants are worth when tariffs return.
At a glance
- Founded
- Nissan Motor Co. established 1933–34 from Tobata Casting's car business (Yoshisuke Aikawa); Datsun brand from the 1930s (from memory, verify)
- Headquarters
- Yokohama, Japan. Nissan North America: Franklin, Tennessee (moved from Gardena, California, 2006 — from memory, verify)
- Ownership / structure
- Public (Tokyo: 7201). After the 2023 rebalancing, Renault's stake fell from 43.4% toward 15%, with 28.4% placed in a French trust; Renault sold 5% back to Nissan for ~¥119.95bn (~$824m) in Dec 2023; Nissan holds ~15% of Renault (equal to C11; later sales verify). Nissan holds a stake in Mitsubishi Motors (34% from 2016, from memory, verify)
- Leadership (2026)
- Ivan Espinosa, president and CEO from 1 Apr 2025 (announced 11 Mar 2025, replacing Makoto Uchida) (reported)
- Scale
- FY2025 (to 31 Mar 2026): net revenue ~¥12.01tn (−~5%); net loss ¥533.1bn (FY2024 ¥670.9bn); impairments ~¥240.12bn; Q4 loss ¥282.9bn; FY2026 forecast net profit ¥20bn (press, May 2026). Q1 FY2026 (Apr–Jun 2026): operating profit ¥77.9bn (incl. one-time gains related to FY2025 US tariffs), net income ¥3.8bn, Re:Nissan savings ~¥60bn in the quarter (reported)
- US plants
- Smyrna, Tennessee (from 1983; capacity up to ~640,000 vehicles a year on three shifts, reported 2025); Canton, Mississippi (from 2003, from memory, verify); Decherd, Tennessee powertrain (from memory, verify); Smyrna battery plant built with the 2010 DOE loan (reported)
- Signature moves (incl. failures)
- Datsun enters the US (1958); Smyrna (1983); the Renault alliance and Revival Plan (1999); the Leaf and the Smyrna battery plant (2010); the volume push and US fleet discounting (2011–18, failure); Ghosn's arrest and the governance crisis (2018–22, failure); the alliance rebalancing (2023); the Honda merger talks (2024–25, failure); Re:Nissan, plant closures and US tariffs (2025–26)
9 strategic moves analysed
Each one gets a full strategy file in the companion: context, the decision, the financing, what happened, and the lesson.
1958
Datsun Enters the US
Market entry / export programme under the Datsun brand, later a US sales subsidiary
1983
Smyrna Tennessee Transplant
New plant (greenfield) — one of the first Japanese car plants in the US, non-union
1999
Renault Alliance and the Revival Plan
Equity alliance (Renault takes a controlling minority stake) / restructuring and footprint consolidation
2010
Leaf EV and the Smyrna Battery Plant
Technology bet / product launch / government loan — a mass-market battery-electric car with US vehicle and battery production financed by a DOE loan
2011
Power 88 Volume Push and US Fleet Discounting
Pricing and capacity strategy — global share and margin targets pursued in the US with incentives and fleet sales (failure)
2018
Ghosn Arrest and the Governance Crisis
Governance failure / leadership change / regulatory and legal action (failure)
2023
Alliance Rebalancing and Equal Stakes
Restructuring of an alliance — cross-shareholding reduced to equal ~15% stakes; investment in Renault's Ampere EV unit
2024
Honda Merger Talks
Merger attempt — a planned joint holding company with Honda (failure)
2025
Re Nissan Plant Closures and US Tariffs
Restructuring / footprint consolidation, under new Section 232 US auto tariffs