Nissan to replace CEO after Honda deal falls through

A month ago, it became clear that the initially optimistic decision to merge Nissan and Honda in order to better withstand the onslaught of Chinese competitors and electric vehicles in general would not be implemented in practice. For Nissan Motor, which is on the verge of bankruptcy, this means that the company will replace its CEO on April 1.

Image source: Nissan Motor

Makoto Uchida, who was involved in the Honda Motor talks, will step down as Nissan Motor CEO early next month and fiscal year after nearly six years in the job to Ivan Espinosa, who currently heads the Japanese automaker’s planning department. Uchida will not be the only high-level executive set to leave Nissan Motor in April. He will also be joined by brand and customer relations chief Asoko Hoshino and strategy and corporate relations chief Hideaki Watanabe.

Espinosa will become Nissan Motor’s fourth CEO in eight years. The company ended the previous quarter with a 78% year-on-year decline in operating profit, and net losses reached $95 million. Forecasts for the future dynamics of Nissan’s revenue and operating profit also disappointed investors. Uchida admitted that his proposed business reorganization plan did not find support among the company’s employees, and therefore the best way out of the situation would be to transfer powers to a successor as soon as possible.

Ivan Espinosa has been with Nissan Motor since 2003 and is not a newcomer to the automotive business. He commented on his appointment as follows: “I grew up in Nissan and spent many years working in its divisions around the world. I truly believe that Nissan has much higher potential than what we see now.”