Recently, there have been frequent global developments in the automotive industry, with two major events attracting widespread attention.
Nissan Motor has launched an independent turnaround plan to fully address its operational challenges. On February 13th, after terminating the business integration intention with Honda, Nissan Motor quickly announced the details of its turnaround plan. In the third quarter of the fiscal year 2024, Nissan suffered a net loss of 14.1 billion yen and lowered its full – year outlook for the fiscal year 2024, expecting a net loss of 80 billion yen. To this end, Nissan plans to cut costs by approximately 400 billion yen by 2026, including 300 billion yen in fixed – cost reduction and 100 billion yen in variable – cost reduction. Specific measures include global layoffs, cutting 2,500 indirect employees in marketing positions and 6,500 factory employees. At the same time, it will restructure manufacturing plants, reducing global production capacity by 20% by the fiscal year 2026. The production capacity in China has been 率先 reduced from 1.5 million vehicles to 1 million vehicles. In addition, Nissan will also reduce costs by improving R&D efficiency and simplifying designs. The goal is to lower the break – even point of the automotive business to 2.5 million vehicles by the fiscal year 2026, with an operating profit margin stabilized at 4%. In terms of products, new plug – in hybrid models will be launched in the next two years, expanding the zero – emission electric vehicle lineup, including a new Nissan Leaf, a new compact electric vehicle, and new new – energy vehicles for the Chinese market. Nissan will also renovate its management structure, adopting a single – layer non – executive officer structure for senior management and reducing senior management positions by 20% to improve management efficiency.
On the other hand, Continental, a major German automotive parts giant, is also undergoing significant adjustments. On February 18th, Continental announced plans to cut approximately 3,000 more R&D jobs by the end of 2026, with less than half of the positions in Germany. It also plans to reduce the R&D investment ratio to less than 10% by 2027. This is another measure following the announcement of layoffs of more than 7,000 people last year. Currently, Continental’s automotive division has approximately 92,000 employees, with about 31,000 engaged in R&D. This adjustment is a key measure for Continental to enhance its competitiveness and achieve sustainable development in the face of industry transformation and market challenges. Affected by global demand fluctuations and the huge pressure of transformation towards electrification and intelligence, many German automotive companies, including Volkswagen, Bosch, and ZF, have successively announced layoffs or business structure adjustments. The German automotive industry is experiencing a period of deep adjustment.
Nissan’s turnaround transformation and Continental’s layoff adjustments reflect the challenges and changes faced by the global automotive industry in the process of electrification and intelligence transformation. In the future, it is worth continuous attention how major automakers and parts manufacturers can find the right direction and achieve sustainable development in the wave of transformation.
Post time: Feb-22-2025