Is Nissan going to recover? Hit the key person at 18:15 on June 18th

The final deficit was 671.2 billion yen. Nissan's financial results for the last fiscal year were in a deficit comparable to the time when it received a capital from Renault about 20 years ago due to the management crisis due to the recording of huge structural reform expenses in addition to the poor sales. Nissan, which has been confused since the case of Ghosn's former chairman, has announced a medium-term management plan until 2023, aiming to rebuild from a "quantity to quality" shift. We asked the key person of the reform, COO Ashwani Gupta, COO, to make a decision. (Maiko Oe, Reporter, Ministry of Economy)

Voice of the “site”

Ashwani Gupta is 49 years old from India. After entering Renault at the age of 35, he experienced procurement of parts under the alliance with Nissan. After that, he became the general manager of the profit management of Nissan's compact car brand "Datsun".

Then, as the COO of Mitsubishi Motors, in December of last year, he became Nissan's No. 2 position, following Makoto Uchida. Its strength lies in being familiar with the circumstances of each company that forms a coalition.

Although this interview was conducted in English, he is fluent in Japanese, and said that he worked hard to capture the voices of “on-site” by visiting factories in Japan and overseas when formulating the medium-term management plan.

COO
GUPTA "I thought that I was a Gemba Guy," and immediately after taking office as COO, I visited factories, R&D centers, sales companies, and so on. The technical strengths such as the driving support system and excellent employees' appearance, but it was pointed out that there are many old cars that have only been released for a long time. As a result, we also learned that there were strong concerns among employees regarding the future of Nissan and when business performance would recover.Therefore, in the medium-term management plan, we set a clear vision and reformed all employees. We aimed to have a sense of participation in the project.''

From scale to value

Nissan's business performance had deteriorated even before the spread of the new coronavirus infection. The launch of new cars was delayed compared to other companies, and the brand image declined in the mainstay US market, which relied on discounted sales using sales incentives.

The expansion route during the time of former Chairman Ghosn has backfired, and last year's sales were less than 5 million units against the production capacity of 7 million units.

Although a drastic restructuring was urgent, the mid-term business plan this time focused on whether or not structural reform with a sense of crisis could be launched, because it took time to settle the confusion after the former Chairman Ghosn's case. was.

Gupta COO
"The most important thing in this business plan, "Nissan Next," is to change the corporate culture from "volume" (unit sales) to "value" (vehicle value). It is important to root change in the organization and involve all employees. We anticipate that the global automobile market may decrease by 20% in fiscal 2020 due to the spread of new coronavirus infections. However, after that, it will recover to a level of 90 million units in 2023. We will secure a 6% market share and aim to sell 5.4 million units annually. We will continue to organize our production lines in line with this goal while maintaining consistency.''

Leverage new model

On the other hand, Mr. Gupta emphasizes that the medium-term management plan this time is "not just a restructuring."

In the next 18 months, the introduction of new models will increase to 12 models at once, aiming to reduce the age of the old car from "5 years" to "4 years or less". Although the number of models will be reduced to improve efficiency, the company plans to concentrate investment in electrification and driver assistance technology, which are its strengths, and install them in new models such as SUVs.

Gupta COO
“We must balance management efficiency with investment in advanced technology. The new management plan is not just a cost cut, but a solid seed for future growth as well as selection and concentration. The new model launched recently is gaining momentum in each region.The electric vehicle "Aria" announced in July is equipped with Nissan's strengths such as driver assistance technology and enjoys dynamic driving. You will get it. Nissan has "leaf" experience with electric vehicles, so I think we can earn the trust of after-sales service."

Reforms at Corona

This interview was conducted online to prevent the spread of the new coronavirus. Mr. Gupta himself says that the number of people working from home has increased since the announcement of an emergency situation in Japan in April.

In order to steadily carry out reforms, he says that the company will make thorough efforts to minimize the impact on development and sales.

Gupta COO
"It's relatively easy for office workers to work from home, but in the development department, the challenge was to continue development even when working from home. Therefore, we were able to improve our infrastructure and use CAD (design software) at home. In order to prevent the development of new products from being affected, the SUV design under development was evaluated by connecting 9 sites in the world online and approving it. We did what we had hoped to do, and we're starting to sell online around the world in terms of customer care, and even if the new coronavirus is over, we'll continue to work on this efficiency. "

Execution required

Nissan has been faced with major reforms since it fell into a management crisis 20 years ago. When I asked Mr. Gupta about his determination, he answered:

COO GUPTA
“As COO, we will give top priority to expanding the transformation of the corporate culture from “scale to value”.”

The realization of the reform poses an unpredictable risk of the spread of the new coronavirus infection. There is also strong employee protests at the factory in Barcelona, ​​Spain, which has announced a policy of closure due to concerns over job losses.

While working to recover business results, it is also necessary to invest to win the automobile industry, which is said to be a once-in-a-century transition period such as electrification.

Is it possible to rebuild the business performance early and draw the path to the next growth? It has been four years since Gupta and Nissan will be challenged.

Economic Department Maeko
Oe
Joined in 2009
Mito Station After working at Fukuoka Station,
currently in charge of the automobile industry