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| Comeback Achieved through Globalization and Restructuring |
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| After exploring capital alliances with Daimler-Benz AG and Renault, Nissan chose to tie a global alliance, including capital participation, with Renault. Operating deficits, caused by recall problems and an uphill battle in U.S. sales, surfaced at Mitsubishi Motors Corporation. |
Headquarter of Nissan Motor, Ginza, Tokyo |
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The company, which had become independent of American automaker Chrysler at one point, decided in 2000 to conclude a capital alliance with DaimlerChrysler. Furthermore, as a result of the conclusion of capital alliances with GM by Suzuki Motor Corporation and Fuji Heavy Industries Ltd., what was once an industry consisting of 11 auto manufacturers became one of two major groups: companies without foreign capital affiliations (the Toyota Group, consisting of TMC, Hino and Daihatsu; and Honda) and foreign affiliated companies (Nissan, affiliated with Renault; Mazda Motor Corporation, affiliated with Ford of the U.S.; Mitsubishi Motors, affiliated with DaimlerChrysler; and Isuzu Motors Limited, Suzuki and Fuji Heavy Industries, affiliated with GM). |
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| The reason why Japanese automakers, which were behind, were able to catch up under such circumstances was through their promotion of globalization and restructuring. |
TMC further reinforced its local manufacturing in the United States while also embarking on local production in France and Asia. At the same time, TMC has been aggressively launching its hitherto scarce SUVs on the U.S. market. Honda has also reinforced local production in North America, and the company is also enhancing its SUV model lineup, including the Odyssey. Meanwhile, Nissan, which came under Renault's umbrella, advanced the restructuring of the company by reorganizing its domestic production framework (closure of the Murayama Plant, etc.), implementing significant downsizing, reconsidering its parts manufacturing affiliations, and so on. At the same time, Nissan is actively constructing new plants in the U.S. and launching pickup trucks.
TMC has posted profits of more than 1 trillion yen in its consolidated net profit for FY2003, and with the exception of Mitsubishi Motors where problems related to recalls has been uncovered, business performance is turning up for Japanese automakers. Japan's automobile manufacturers have made a comeback. |
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Carlos Ghosn, President & CEO of Nissan Motor |
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