AutoBeta(AutoBeta.net)11/13 Report--

Nissan Motor Co. reported operating profit of 30 billion yen ($275 million) for the July-September period Tuesday, down 70 percent from 101.2 billion yen a year earlier, according to media reports.

Nissan's sales have also been affected by the current tough auto market. From January to October this year, Nissan sold 1230047 vehicles in China, down 0.6% year-on-year.

Nissan lowered its 2019 forecast due to a significant decline in sales and performance. Nissan forecasts global sales of 5.24 million vehicles in fiscal year 2019, down 5.45 from previous expectations; revenue of 10.6 trillion yen, down 6.2 per cent from previous expectations; and net profit of 110 billion yen, down 35.3 per cent from previous expectations.

Over the past month or so, Nissan has seen several personnel changes at the top. On September 10, Nissan Motor Company officially announced that President and CEO Hiroto Nishikawa would resign on September 16, replaced by Chief Operating Officer Yasuhiro Yamauchi, and the official successor would be confirmed by the end of October.

On Oct.9, Nissan officially announced the appointment of 53-year-old senior vice president of the company, chairman of Nissan China Management Committee and president of Dongfeng Motor Co., Ltd. as president and chief executive officer of the company. In addition, Mitsubishi Chief Operating Officer Ashwani Gupta was appointed chief operating officer of Nissan; Nissan Senior Vice President Guan Run was appointed deputy operating officer of Nissan.

Nissan hopes to save Nissan, whose sales and performance are declining, by adjusting its internal senior management and "drawing a clear line" with Ghosn, while also hoping to pick up and rebuild the new Nissan as soon as possible under the leadership of Mr. Naida.

It is understood that Ghosn was arrested in Tokyo last November and charged with financial irregularities, underreporting about 9.1 billion yen ($84.71 million) in compensation over Nissan's nearly a decade and transferring personal investment losses to Nissan. Since then, Ghosn has also been accused of seeking about $5 million in personal gain in the name of Nissan.

However, last month 24, Ghosn's lawyer asked the court to dismiss all charges against Ghosn, not only arguing that Ghosn was innocent, but also claiming that prosecutors colluded with government officials and Nissan executives to remove him. The public trial is expected to begin as soon as April 2020.

Whether or not Ghosn's arrest is related to financial irregularities, Nissan's business has been in turmoil since Ghosn's arrest, Nissan's profits and sales have declined to varying degrees, and relations with Renault have become strained.

Nissan Motor Co.'s net profit fell 57.3% to 319.1 billion yen in fiscal year 2018, hitting an eight-year low. Nissan's revenue fell 13 per cent year-on-year to Y2.37 trillion and net profit fell 94.5 per cent year-on-year to Y6.3 billion, according to earnings reports for the first quarter of fiscal year 2019 (April-June). Nissan sold 1.23 million vehicles worldwide during the same period, down 6.0% year-on-year. Nissan is implementing a global recovery plan to recover as quickly as possible. According to the plan,

Nissan will cut 12,500 jobs worldwide in 2022, or 10 percent of its workforce. In addition to reducing the number of workers, they will also cut their product lines globally and reduce product categories by 10% by March 31, 2022 to control costs. In terms of new cars, Nissan plans to launch eight new electric vehicles by 2022, bringing its annual sales of electric vehicles to 1 million.

Welcome to subscribe to the WeChat public account "Automotive Industry Focus" to get the first-hand insider information on the automotive industry and talk about things in the automotive circle. Welcome to break the news! WeChat ID autoWechat