Nissan prepares to replace CEO after Honda deal falls apart

TOKYO – Nissan Motor is drawing up plans to replace its chief executive officer following another dismal set of earnings and the collapse of talks to combine with Honda Motor, according to people familiar with the matter.

Nissan directors are gauging interest in potential candidates to succeed Mr Makoto Uchida, the 22-year company veteran who has been CEO since late 2019, one of the people said.

Nissan is planning to name Mr Jeremie Papin, who was tapped in December 2024 to become chief financial officer, as Mr Uchida’s replacement, Japanese business publication Diamond reported on Jan 27.

The carmaker’s shares climbed as much as 4.9 per cent in morning trade.

Mr Uchida, 58, told reporters earlier in February that while he was prepared to relinquish his position if asked, he did not want to step down before steadying Nissan’s business.

He braced investors for an 80 billion yen (S$718 million) net loss for the fiscal year ending in March, a far cry from the 380 billion yen net profit he was forecasting just nine months ago.

Nissan is staring down a record debt bill coming due in 2026 with all three major credit graders having cut its ratings to junk, following two downgrades in the last week.

Mr Uchida looked to Honda for help late in 2024, striking a tentative agreement to combine under a joint holding company.

The carmakers called off those negotiations

in February after butting heads over terms.

Honda and Nissan executives said they would still continue a strategic partnership with a third Japanese peer, Mitsubishi Motors, to collaborate on electric vehicle (EV) batteries and software development.

Mr Uchida was clear-eyed during a Feb 13 press conference about how pivotal tie-ups will be to Nissan’s future. “It will still be difficult to survive without leaning on future partnerships,” he told reporters.

Nissan is having trouble wooing consumers with its dated product line-up and has had to spend heavily on incentives and promotions to rein in inventory. Mr Uchida announced plans in November 2024 to trim 9,000 jobs and a fifth of the company’s production capacity.

Finding a way forward will be complicated.

Nissan’s biggest shareholder and long-time alliance partner Renault was critical of the hard bargain Honda was driving over how their combination would be structured and praised Nissan for walking away.

Renault has meanwhile sought to distance itself from the company, with CEO Luca de Meo saying China’s Zhejiang Geely Holding Group may be a more natural partner than Nissan going forward.

Hon Hai Precision Industry, the maker of iPhones better known as Foxconn, approached Nissan about acquiring a stake in the company in December 2024 and said in February that it was open to buy Renault’s 36 per cent shareholding.

The Taiwanese contract manufacturer is trying to establish a foothold in EV making and has had trouble convincing car companies to outsource production.

Separately, US private equity firm KKR has mulled over a potential equity or debt investment to improve Nissan’s financial position, Bloomberg News reported earlier in February, citing people familiar with the matter.
BLOOMBERG