Nissan, Ghosn bracing for the worst
Times are tough in the US auto industry, and Nissan CEO Carlos Ghosn doesn't see the situation improving any time soon. Ghosn and company are planning under the assumption that overall US sales won't break 15M units for the year, which is a substantial 2M units less than just three years ago. To complicate matters, the Japanese automaker expects steel prices to rise either later this year or early in 2009, which would put further strains on the entire industry.
While times are tough, Ghosn does see a silver lining for Nissan, as the Japanese automaker has a full lineup of fuel efficient cars that customers are buying. That should translate into increased market share, though since it's a larger piece of a smaller pie, it probably won't translate into more year over year volume. While that isn't reason enough to break out the Dom Pérignon, it's better than most automakers can say these days.
[Source: Forbes]
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Reader Comments (Page 1 of 2)
f3rg 6:38PM (6/25/2008)
Mr. Bean!!
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Johnny 6:42PM (6/25/2008)
Mr. Bean is that you?
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anti-believer 6:50PM (6/25/2008)
Well, if they would stop making 2 or 3 of the same damn thing that wouldn't be worried.
Idiot!
Maxima/Altima
G35/Z350/240SX[coming soon]/M45/GTR
Rogue/EX
FX/Murano
He does look like Mr Bean.
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Jordan 7:01PM (6/25/2008)
Your types are wrong.
Altima/Maxima/Murano
G35/M35/EX/FX/GTR/Z
Sentra/Rogue
Titan/Frontier/QX/Armada/Pathfinder/Xterra
Is that Mr. Bean?
Mez Jr 11:08AM (6/26/2008)
What you described is exactly HOW to make money in the auto industry, multiple products off of one engineering resource.
Altima/Maxima/Murano
of these only the Altima/Maxima are close, and they are different in size and equipment. The average non-car person wouldnt know any of these were related at all.
G35/M35/EX/FX/GTR/Z
of these, only the G35 coupe and Z are even close, and even with those the G35c has 2 extra seats.
Sentra/Rogue
Car & SUV, these are not being cross-shopped.
Titan/Frontier/QX/Armada/Pathfinder/Xterra
Once more, all of these with the exclusion of the QX/Armada are highly distinguishable, and those are carried by two different dealerships.
REALITYCHECK 7:04PM (6/25/2008)
Nissan has the same number of small cars as every one else. The only car that I see is the Altima the rest of the line is nothing special. They don't even have a small car like Honda or even Chevy! I think That GN is in a much better position with both Saturn and Chevrolet this time. I am just tired of Ghosen being treated like a king for a really average mini van and a bad truck line.
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The Talking Hamburger 12:34AM (6/26/2008)
You're forgetting the Nissan Versa.
Mike 8:59PM (6/25/2008)
"They don't even have a small car like Honda or even Chevy!"
Except the Versa. And the forthcoming Cube. And the fact that GN is a railroad. Otherwise, good jorb!
Vincenzo 10:32PM (6/25/2008)
Let me list a few small cars from Nissan:
Nissan Moco
Nissan Micra (March)
Nissan Cube
Nissan Note
Vincenzo 10:38PM (6/25/2008)
Look here:
http://www.nissan.co.jp/CARLINEUP/
rypt 7:10PM (6/25/2008)
How about Nissan make some decent everyday cars ... they having nothing "good" to compete with the Auris/Civic. In fact their only decent cars are the 350z, GT-R and maybe the Navara/SUV range.
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Duck 7:24PM (6/25/2008)
^^ The Nissan Versa is pretty small...last time I checked.
rypt 7:45PM (6/25/2008)
While we may not get them in UK, I have been in one when I was in Asia, and I cant say I'm a big fan of them. I dunno what it is, but I just dont find them as nice to drive as the above two cars.
Oh, and when I said Civic/Auris/Corolla, I did not mean "small" cars in general, I ment cars for everyday people to drive everyday comfortably, which the above two define for me.
s13hybrid 9:58AM (6/26/2008)
They have the Sentra.
Xcountryflyer 7:21PM (6/25/2008)
Nissan really has some models that need to be redone soon. First on the list is the Sentra. That car was mediocre the minute it came out and it doesn't have the Toyota badge to sell it. The Versa is good but it really is too big and close to the Sentra. It really needed to be more subcompact that compact sized. The pickups have not had good sales even when fuel was lower. The Altima coupe is nice but not really a lower end sports car like the past 240SX. The new Maxima is going to have a tough life between the G35 and Altima SE/GXE.
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MikeW 7:43PM (6/25/2008)
Cue the FX30 diesel.
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2004m3driver 7:55PM (6/25/2008)
Mr. Bean or not, he is till one of the best CEO's ever and helped take Nissan from debt to profit. Even Kirk Kerkorian wanted him to become CEO of GM because of how talented he is. Not to mention he probably has dibs on the first GTR Vspec.
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ken_aisin 9:44PM (6/25/2008)
Steel prices rising? How about switching to aluminum? I wouldn't mind paying an extra $3K for a car with an aluminum chassis and body panels. The reduction in weight would make it more fuel efficient. Besides, Aluminum doesn't rust like stainless steel.
I hope the prices of carbon fiber reinforced plastics will one day fall to the point where every car can be made of this light and strong composite material.
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RJ 10:23PM (6/25/2008)
The problem is when your insurance rate goes up 50% because the cost of fixing your car in the event of a collision just doubled...
ken_aisin 11:22PM (6/25/2008)
My son's insurance rate didn't go up 50% when he replaced his Honda S2000 with a Lotus Exige. It only went up slightly.