Recently, foreign media reported: "As Renault is planning to sell part of its stake in Nissan, Nissan is looking for new investors to help the company through a crucial year."

Two unnamed Nissan executives confirmed the authenticity of this event. One of the Nissan executives also said, "We have 12-14 months to survive, and we need Japan and the United States to generate cash."

On November 17, 2024, Nissan just released financial results that fell far short of expectations. Data shows that Nissan's revenue was 2.9858 trillion yen (about 139.7 billion yuan), a year-on-year decrease of 5.1%; operating profit plummeted to 31.9 billion yen (180 million yuan), a significant drop of 84.7% from the same period last year's 208.1 billion yen (about 9.7 billion yuan); the corresponding operating profit margin fell to only 1.1% in the third quarter, a year-on-year decrease of 5.5%. The worst performance was in net profit. In the third quarter, it swung from profit to loss, with a net loss of 9.3 billion yen (about 440 million yuan). As of the end of the third quarter, Nissan's free cash flow was -145.6 billion yen (about 6.8 billion yuan).

Official data shows that Nissan sold 809,000 vehicles globally in the third quarter, a year-on-year decrease of 2.8%. In the first nine months of 2024, Nissan sold a total of 2.5058 million vehicles globally, a slight increase of 0.4% year-on-year. However, sales in North America and China, Nissan's two most important markets, declined to varying degrees. It is reported that sales in the North American market were 212,068 units, a year-on-year decrease of 2.2%; while in China, Nissan sold only 172,000 vehicles in the third quarter, a year-on-year decrease of 12.5%. In the first nine months of 2024, Nissan sold a total of 497,000 vehicles in China, a year-on-year decrease of 9.1%.

In recent years, the domestic automobile industry has witnessed vigorous development in electrification and intelligence, with new energy vehicle sales continuing to grow, and traditional fuel vehicles gradually losing favor with consumers. Under such circumstances, sales of Nissan's main models such as the Altima, Sylphy, and Qashqai have been declining. To address the crisis, Nissan announced a series of emergency self-rescue measures on the same day it released its financial results. The company stated that it would improve performance by laying off 9,000 employees worldwide, reducing global production capacity by 20%, lowering sales, general, and administrative expenses, reducing product costs, and optimizing asset portfolios. At the same time, Nissan decided to sell 10% of its shares in Mitsubishi Motors, its partner, reducing its shareholding to 24%. Moreover, Nissan CEO Makoto Uchida voluntarily gave up 50% of his monthly salary starting in November. Members of the Management Committee followed suit by voluntarily cutting their salaries by 50%.

An informed source revealed that "Nissan is looking for a long-term, stable shareholder, such as a bank or insurance group, to replace part of Renault's shareholding." At the same time, Nissan has considered "all possibilities" and does not rule out the possibility of Honda purchasing some shares. According to the Financial Times, long-time partner Renault is selling its troubled Nissan shares. It is understood that Renault once held a 46% stake in Nissan. However, as of now, this proportion is below 40% and continues to decline. The reason for considering Honda is that Nissan and Honda have previously established a strategic partnership. In March of this year, Nissan and Honda signed a new electric vehicle partnership. In August of this year, Nissan, Honda, and Mitsubishi signed a memorandum of understanding, forming a strategic alliance to cooperate in pure electric vehicles and intelligence.

It is worth mentioning that since the announcement of their cooperation, both Nissan and Honda have downplayed the possibility of capital cooperation. However, a source close to Nissan said that Honda's investment remains a "last possibility." Currently, industry insiders say that Nissan refuses to comment on the possibility of finding anchor investors and Honda acquiring shares, stating that "cooperation with Honda is strategically important." Honda officials also declined to comment. Some reports suggest that regardless of the situation, the relationship between Nissan and Renault appears to be nearing an end. Whether Nissan can successfully navigate its difficulties and whether Honda will become a new investor in Nissan will be answered within the next dozen months.

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