Ma, who transitioned from his role as Nissan's chief financial officer at the beginning of the year to tackle the challenges in China, admitted that domestic automakers had moved with exceptional speed, catching global players like Nissan somewhat off guard. "The Chinese brands were too fast, to be honest. They were exceptional in how fast they moved. It took everybody by surprise. Now I think we have reset," he stated during a roundtable interview.
The figures paint a stark picture of Nissan's recent struggles in China. Sales plummeted to under 700,000 units in 2024, a staggering drop from the over 1.4 million vehicles sold just four years prior. This downturn in its second-largest market contributed to the Japanese automaker's need to revise its global sales forecast for the fiscal year ending last month.
However, Nissan is signaling a renewed commitment with a substantial financial injection earmarked for the business by the end of 2026. This investment will underpin the company's strategy to introduce a wave of new energy vehicles tailored to the demands of the Chinese consumer.
At the auto show, Nissan provided a glimpse of this new direction, unveiling its first plug-in hybrid model alongside an all-new pickup truck, the Frontier Pro. Furthermore, the production version of the N7, a battery electric sedan developed in partnership with local giant Dongfeng, was also showcased and is slated to go on sale this month.
Signaling an acceleration of its electrification strategy, Nissan announced an increased target of launching 10 new energy vehicles in China by the summer of 2027. This represents an upward revision from the previous commitment of eight such vehicles by the end of next year, indicating the urgency with which Nissan is now approaching the electric vehicle transition in China.
Ma addressed past criticisms regarding Nissan's perceived tardiness in entering the plug-in hybrid segment, highlighting the significance of the Frontier Pro as their first offering. "We were always being criticised for being late to the plug-in hybrid trend, but now we have the first one. And we wanted to do something special with it," he explained.
Looking beyond the domestic market, Ma also outlined Nissan's intention to leverage its China operations as an export hub for numerous international markets, notably excluding the United States due to existing tariffs on Chinese vehicle imports. "Even though I have lived and worked in the U.S. for a long time, I could not have anticipated this," Ma commented, adding, "We will be exporting to many countries. We cannot announce which ones yet."
The success of Nissan's ambitious turnaround plan will be closely monitored, with Ma suggesting that the company's share price and sales figures following the launch of the new models will serve as key indicators. Specific targets, however, will be articulated by the company's recently appointed CEO, Ivan Espinosa, who succeeded Makoto Uchida in March.
Ma conveyed the urgency instilled by the new leadership, quoting Espinosa's directive as "fast, fast, fast, fast." While Espinosa was absent from the Shanghai show, his predecessor, Uchida, who retains his position as a Nissan director until June and has prior experience leading the China business, held a private meeting with Ma at the company's booth, underscoring the significance of the Chinese market to Nissan's global strategy.