Nissan CEO: Brand Won’t Survive Without Outside Investment

Nissan CEO Makoto Uchida (left) has been under the spotlight internally since merger talks with rivals Honda ended.

With a previously proposed merger with Honda now seemingly off the tables, new reports suggest that Nissan is considering accepting investment from said firm instead. In turn, this could set off a collaboration with Honda instead, as well as Mitsubishi and perhaps Foxconn.

In fact, new reports coming out Japan indicate that Nissan still seeks to work with rivals Honda despite broken down merger talks. Given its precarious financial state, the former appears willing to do whatever it takes to survive, with some suggesting it could include sacking its current CEO too.

Uchida could be axed internally following the failed merger talk with Honda, with the rivalling firm also famously calling for his exit should Nissan wish to reboot partnership discussions.

On that note, Nissan CEO Makoto Uchida could be ousted should the firm he leads take up investment offers form Honda, reports Nikkei Business. The exec previously said he will not stand in the way if the automaker’s nomination committee, board of directors, and shareholders decide to call for his exit.

Insiders also said that Nissan’s nomination committee are set to meet up sometime this week to discuss the brand’s next steps. If Uchida gets the axe, then the same source pointed out that current Nissan CFO Keremy Papin could take over as an interim and lead new talks with Honda.

Uchida is also reportedly eager to stabilise Nissan's business, to which he warned shareholders to brace for net loss of up to US$536 million recently.

At the same time, a report by Blomberg suggests Uchida has been eager to stabilise Nissan’s business before vacating. Hie did however told shareholders to expect net loss of up to US$536 million (approx. RM2.37 billion) for the fiscal year ending in March despite estimating a US$2.5 billion (approx. RM11.06 billion) net profit back in May last year.

A key party reportedly interested to invest in Nissan too is Taiwanese tech conglomerate Foxconn. However, the firm’s rumoured interest in acquiring Nissan that surfaced last year was widely touted as a key catalyst driving Japanese authorities to pressure Honda into merger talks with Nissan with the aim of keeping the latter Japanese-owned.

One of the key reasons to the failed merger talks with Honda was doubts on just how much of Nissan's independence is ensured if it was placed as a Honda subsidiary.

Following failed talks between Nissan and Honda to establish a joint holding company, Nissan’s Uchida also said it would be difficult for the marque he leads to survive without partners. “It is difficult to keep up with competition just by Nissan itself, so we had a serious discussion about the proposal by Honda,” he said.

In the same statement, Uchida also expressed doubts on how much Nissan’s independence will be ensured, and whether its full potential is brought out should Nissan be placed as a subsidiary to Honda too.