Nissan To Cut 12,500 Jobs Around The World Due to Bad Sales

Nissan Motor Co (7201.T) unveiled its biggest restructuring plan in a decade, axing nearly a tenth of its workforce and flagging possible plant closures to rein in costs that ballooned when Carlos Ghosn was CEO.

The cuts announced on Thursday followed a collapse in Nissan’s quarterly profit, highlighting how a crisis - brought about by sluggish sales and rising costs - is deepening at Japan’s No. 2 automaker in the wake of a financial misconduct scandal over Ghosn. Ghosn has denied the charges.

The dismal quarter will pile pressure on Chief Executive Hiroto Saikawa, who has been tasked with shoring up the automaker’s performance at a time when the industry is struggling worldwide.

China’s slowing economy, further depressed by a trade war with the United States, has hit demand, even as American consumer confidence has faltered.

Tougher emission regulation has taken as toll on diesel-car sales in Europe, and an increase in electric vehicle sales and ride-sharing has worsened a drop in sales at the world’s biggest car makers.

Ford Motor Co (F.N), the second-largest U.S. automaker, is also cutting 12,000 jobs and closing plants, while Daimler (DAIGn.DE), Aston Martin (AML.L) and supplier Continental (CONG.DE) warned on profits this week.

Nissan will reduce at least 12,500 positions globally by March 2023 - its deepest job cuts since 2009 - and slash production capacity, mainly of compact cars at underutilized plants abroad. The move will shrink its product line-up by about 10%, Saikawa said,

The maker of the Rogue SUV crossover and the tiny, low-cost Datsun Redi-Go, had 138,000 employees as of March 2018.

“We are mainly targeting sites where we made investments to produce compact cars under the Power 88 plan,” Saikawa told reporters at a briefing at Nissan headquarters, referring to an aggressive growth strategy spearheaded by Ghosn in 2011 to grab 8% global market share and an 8% operating margin.

Saikawa said a total of 14 facilities would be affected.

Nissan’s job cuts expand on redundancies initially announced in May, which affected eight facilities including in Spain - where trucks and vans are made - and Indonesia, where the March subcompact hatchback and Datsun models are manufactured.

Nissan also produces compact car models at facilities including in Mexico, Russia, France, and Thailand.


- Reuters

Man City’s Pep Guardiola Is Nissan’s New Brand Ambassador

Japanese car brand Nissan has extended its global partnership with City Football Group (CFG) and signed a new ambassador in Pep Guardiola.

Under the deal, Nissan will continue as the group’s Official Automotive Partner in the UK, US and Australia, with exposure at all CFG properties in those markets.

The rights include LED time and exposure at Manchester City men’s and women’s fixtures at the Etihad Stadium and Academy Stadium, and LED time at New York City’s Yankee Stadium, and Melbourne City’s AAMI Park.

Now, as part of a continuation of that deal, Manchester City manager Pep Guardiola has been named a Nissan brand ambassador.

“Nissan was the first ever partner of City Football Group in 2014,” said the group’s senior VP of partnerships, Damian Willoughby. “It was the first global business to understand our vision and our objectives and see the value of using our multi-club model as a way to engage their audience in different key markets around the world. It is a great endorsement of our partnership that we are extending our relationship and will continue to work closely together. Nissan is a world-class brand and has set an incredibly high standard in sports marketing.

A Display of Cars At The LA Auto Show 2018 - Photos

Think of a better way to end the year? Then the LA Auto Show must be a show to consider. Tagged as one of the biggest Auto Show in the industry, the LA Autoshow is where carmakers showcase their new input to the auto world.

Los Angeles is agog for new cars all thanks to the LA Auto Show. The 2018 LA Auto Show brought forth a torrent of meaningful new vehicles at ground zero for car culture, automotive design, and trend-setting cars. The LA show pushed all the hot buttons for cars heading into 2019 with more models, hybrid powerplants, and enough high-end rides to entice all car lovers across the globe. Even Tesla has a stand at the LA Civic Center; it has skipped most auto shows the past several years but they are back with a bang, we can't wait to see what they have up their sleeves.

Here are our favorite dozen cars of the LA auto show. There are so many good cars, we didn’t have room for the new Porsche 911. The 2018 LA Auto Show — also called AutoMobility, because of the concurrent conferences and alternative-energy-vehicle ride-and-drives of the first week, runs through Sunday, Dec. 9, at the Civic Center.

These are some of our favorites cars at the on-going event... What's your take?

Cadillac Escalade 

Mercedes Benz 

Infiniti 

Audi

Nissan 

BMW

Porsche 911

Ford

Mitsubishi

Chevrolet 

Honda 

Rivian 

Lincoln 

Kia

Range Rover 

Porsche 911

Mustang

Kia Soul

 NSXGT3

Hyundai

Jeep

SlingShot 

Lincoln Navigator  

Jeep Gladiator Pickup Truck

Maserati

Maserati

Google partners with Renault -Nissan-Mitsubishi

Imagine a world where there is no google or where we can't access the web, imagine how the world will be.

According to reports, Google will partner with Renault -Nissan-Mitsubishi, the largest auto alliance in the world by vehicle sales, to put Android-based infotainment systems into millions of cars, the companies told Wall Street Journal.

The alliance’s next-generation infotainment system and dashboard displays will use Android and launch in 2021.

Drivers will be able to access Google’s maps, app store and voice assistant from their vehicle’s dashboards. The new partnership is a giant step forward for Google’s ambitions to get its operating system into more cars (the alliance sold a combined 5.5 million vehicles in the first half of this year, putting it ahead of Volkswagen and Toyota Motor).

The alliance’s executives told WSJ that they decided on the partnership because many of their customers are accustomed to using Google Maps and other apps and prefer sticking with them instead of using software developed by automakers when they drive.

Auto executives have also become more comfortable with Google, which made its software open source in 2007. Kal Mos, the alliance’s vice president of connected vehicles, told the Wall Street Journal that “the trust was built in the last few years.”

By partnering with Google, Renault-Nissan-Mitsubishi ups the ante on rival automakers to partner with tech companies instead of developing their own software ecosystems. While this may win customers over, it also means potentially ceding control over valuable user data to companies like Google and Apple. Mos told WSJ that Google will have access to data collected from its in-car apps, but must ask for user permission first.

Other automakers that are already integrating Google apps into their vehicles include Volkswagen, which put Google Earth into the Audi’s in-car navigation system, and Volvo Cars, which said its next in-car infotainment system will run on Android.

Nissan Transformed A Pick-up Truck Into A World Class Mobile Space Observatory

Nissan has transformed a pick-up truck into a world-class mobile space observatory.

The Navara Dark Sky Concept allows astronomers to gaze at the universe from hard-to-reach locations away from the nighttime glow of urban areas.

It tows a bespoke trailer which houses a world-leading telescope giving detailed views beyond the rings of Saturn, to distant galaxies, nebulae, and supernovas.

The one-off Nissan, developed in the UK in collaboration with the European Space Agency, was unveiled at today's Hannover Motor Show in Germany.

The trailer module has a special refrigerated atmosphere, which allows the telescope to remain stable and calibrated at the optimum temperature in transit to any location.

Once at the desired destination, the trailer module's mechanized roof opens to focus the telescope on the night sky.

To negotiate tricky terrain, the Nissan has four-wheel drive, 20-inch (50 cm) wheels with off-road tyres and high-intensity headlights. The overall ride height has been raised for improved ground clearance.

Under the bonnet is a 2.3-litre twin-turbocharged diesel with enough pulling power to handle the trailer's additional weight.

The Navara and trailer both feature portable EV battery packs, which make use of Nissan's existing electric-vehicle battery technology.

When docked in place, the battery packs are constantly in charging mode and ready for use.

Additional high-tech features include Wi-Fi, a laptop station and UHF (Ultra High Frequency) radio transmission to relay data instantaneously to anywhere in the world.

Parking is made simple thanks to the cameras which give the driver a birds-eye-view around the vehicle.

There are eight radar units, on each corner of the vehicle and trailer, which update the driver on the vehicle's surroundings through the touchscreen on the dashboard.

At the heart of the trailer is the ultrahigh-power PlaneWave telescope which uses a 16 inch (40 cm) primary mirror to focus on the night's sky.

Since red light affects human night vision at least, both the vehicle and trailer exclusively use red lighting to avoid visual disruption during observations.

The Navara also has ProPILOT, which enhances the driver's control by combining Nissan's Intelligent Cruise Control and Steering Assist technologies.