Nissan’s biggest competition isn’t coming from North America or Korea—it’s coming from China. The nation’s automakers are pushing into Europe, North America and South America with low-cost new models complete with high-tech interfaces, well-executed driver assistance systems and eye-catching design.
Facing financial headwinds and stiff competition, Nissan today announced, at its Vision event, plans to trim and electrify its lineup in a bid to put it in a better position to compete on an international scale.
The previously public Re:Nissan turnaround plan has one year remaining. It was designed to create a leaner, more profitable company. The result has been thousands of employees laid off, a rejiggering of manufacturing centers, a reduction in parts complexity, a shorter lead time in vehicle development, and over $3 billion in cost cutting.
“This past year has been about making capacity choices and aligning to support the next phases. The forward product strategy has been reviewed, as is being discussed at the Nissan Vision event. However, the Re:Nissan program still has a year to go, which means there may be more changes to come,” Stephanie Brinley, associate director of AutoIntelligence at S&P Global Mobility, told Newsweek.
Now, the automaker has decided to slash its lineup from 56 to 45 models. Low-performing models will exit the portfolio in favor of reallocating cash in growth areas. Nissan announced plans to bring the a new Xterra SUV and Skyline sports car to market.
Nissan will also continue its powertrain diversity plan, giving each new-model buyer more options. The company believes this will allow it to increase sales volume per model.
Production of the new Frontier Pro plug-in hybrid electric pickup truck is already underway in China and being exported for sale. It competes with the BYD Shark 6 and Ford Ranger PHEV. Some markets, like the U.S., only sell the gas-powered Frontier.
In the future, approximately 80% of Nissan’s volume will come from three core vehicle families while it focuses its model strategy on four categories. “Heartbeat” vehicles are categorized due to their emotional value, “Core” models are globally scalable and have stable markets, “Growth” vehicles target burgeoning demand and “Partner” models extend Nissan’s reach via collaboration with other automakers.
The company linked four upcoming models to this strategy: Rogue (Core), Xterra (Heartbeat), Juke EV (Growth), Skyline (Heartbeat). Juke EV will be sold in Europe and Skyline will be sold in Japan.
Nissan is also committed to its premium arm, Infiniti. The elevated brand launches its new QX65 in the coming months. A new premium sports sedan and luxury hybrid compact SUV are on the near-term horizon, coming by 2028.
After years of decline, Infiniti sales are on the upswing in the U.S. Though overall the car company is selling less vehicles, so are its competitors, which has allowed Infiniti to gain market share. The QX60 midsize SUV experienced a 64% year-over-year sales increase in Q1.
Nissan is targeting one million sales per year in the U.S. and Canada by 2030. Its aim for Japan is about half that.
China, one of Nissan’s core markets, will be utilized for production and export as the company continues its model push.
