Nissan’s New CEO Aims to Reduce Vehicle Development Time

Nissan’s incoming CEO, Ivan Espinosa, on Wednesday said that Nissan is planning to cut its car development time to increase its competitiveness in the global market. Currently, Nissan takes around 55 months to develop a completely new vehicle. He also said that Nissan will reduce family car development to 37 months while second and third cars to 30 months.

Espinosa, currently chief planning officer, holds over two decades of experience in product development and is now ready to refocus on the automaker’s priorities on developing more vehicles in less time, ensuring customers’ taste.

He also admitted that Nissan has several gaps in the market, and one of those was to have five or six brand-oriented models and launch in global markets. Understanding recent struggles, Nissan has cut the projected earnings three times for the year ending this month and has also witnessed a reduced credit rating to junk.

Last year, Nissan sold around 3.3 million vehicles globally, a slight decline by 2023 but around a 40% drop since 2017.

In China, Nissan has struggled to maintain its position as local brands like BYD have launched several new-generation vehicles at competitive prices. On the other hand, Nissan has lost its ground in the US due to its failure to launch hybrid vehicles. The automaker was also unable to capitalize on the initial market of electric vehicles.

As part of Nissan’s restructuring goals, the automaker is expected to make 9,000 job cuts and reduce global capacity by 20%, likely to shut the plant in Thailand by June and two more plants in the coming months.

The brand plans to offer new vehicles in North America in the coming financial year, which include its Leaf crossover - the third generation of the world’s first mass-market electric car initially made its debut in 2010 - along with its first-ever plug-in hybrid Rogue SUV developed in collaboration with Mitsubishi Motors.

Nissan has reported to sell its Leaf crossover in Japan and European markets. The third-largest Japanese automaker also plans to commence production of electric SUVs at its Canton, Mississippi, plant by April 2027.

In an official release, the automaker revealed that it will start sales of the electric Micra developed in collaboration with Renault by the end of this year. A hybrid version of the Qashqai crossover will also be introduced in Europe.