It's been a year - why hasn't Nissan collapsed yet?

[PCauto] A year ago, Nissan internally assessed that if its business conditions did not improve, its cash flow would only be able to support operations for about another year.

As 2026 begins, a year has passed, and Nissan has yet to experience a turnaround. Its cooperation talks with Honda have broken down, global sales continue to decline, and profitability has not recovered. By the end of 2025, Nissan sold its global headquarters in Yokohama to help restore its cash flow.

Nissan’s Global Sales Continued to Decline in 2025

According to Nissan's latest financial report (FY25 first half), Nissan's global retail sales totaled 1.48 million units, a decline of 7.3% year-on-year, with drops across the Chinese, Japanese, and European markets. North America was one of the few markets that did not lag behind, but it could not significantly boost the overall performance. This caused Nissan to drop out of the global top 10 sales rankings for the first time in 16 years.

Throughout the second half of 2025, Nissan's sales situation did not improve. According to a third-party statistics agency, by November 2025, Nissan's cumulative sales were close to 2.93 million units, down approximately 4.1% compared to the same period last year, with declines in September and October ranging from about 3.6% to 4.8% year-on-year.

But Nissan Still Holds a Cash Flow of 1 Trillion Yen

From any perspective, this does not seem like a car company in recovery. However, surprisingly, Nissan has not faced the challenges it anticipated a year ago.

The latest financial report (FY25 H1) shows that as of the end of September 2025, Nissan's automotive business net cash stood at 990.9 billion yen, close to 1 trillion yen. At the same time, CFO Papin stated in the report that by the end of FY25 (March 2026), Nissan's net cash is expected to exceed 1 trillion yen.

In other words, Nissan's automotive business still holds nearly 1 trillion yen in net cash, which is enough to cover nearly two years' worth of research and development, plant operations, and supply chain expenses.

How Did Nissan Manage to Keep This 1 Trillion Yen in Cash?

This 1 trillion yen was not earned by Nissan, but saved.

Actively Reducing Car Production

In FY25 H1, Nissan's global retail sales fell by 7.3% year-on-year, but global production decreased by 10.8% year-on-year.

This suggests that Nissan intentionally reduced production at a faster pace. For manufacturing enterprises, producing less might make short-term figures look worse, but it directly reduces fixed costs and inventory capital occupancy.

Reducing Vehicle Inventory

This is related to Nissan's production reduction. In the first half of 2025, Nissan's global inventory decreased by about 90,000 vehicles year-on-year. The company also emphasized more refined management of dealer inventory.

In other words, in the face of declining sales, Nissan did not artificially maintain sales by forcing vehicles onto dealers but proactively slowed down the wholesale pace. The reduction in inventory meant that cash was not heavily tied up.

No Participation in Price Wars in Core Markets

From a regional performance perspective, North America and China are Nissan's most important markets, and also the ones where price cuts can most easily drive sales.

As a result, it is clear: Nissan's North American sales achieved slight growth in FY25 H1, and the Chinese market gradually stabilized in the second half of the year. However, there were no signs of short-term sales surges or sharp profit declines typical of price wars.

Nissan's Strategy Reduced Cash Consumption

Under Nissan's strategy, in the first half of FY25, Nissan achieved a reduction of 80 billion yen in fixed costs, significantly reducing its cash consumption rate.

Secondly, Nissan sold its global headquarters in Yokohama and leased it back for a transaction amount of 97 billion yen. This is expected to generate 73.9 billion yen in income in the following fiscal years, further bolstering its cash reserves.

During the same period, Nissan expanded its unused credit limit to 2.33 trillion yen and maintained a total liquidity level of 3.6 trillion yen, further reducing short-term liquidity risks.

Nissan avoided many decisions that could have quickly depleted cash this year, which is why nearly 1 trillion yen in net cash from its automotive business was preserved.

Rogue Becomes an Important Lifeline for Nissan

Earlier, we discussed how North America is one of the few markets where Nissan is still growing, achieving approximately 2% growth in the first half of 2025.

In fact, the growth in North American sales is not driven by Nissan’s breakthroughs in new technology or entirely new models, but by a long-established core product: the Rogue, with a starting price of $29,090 (911,000 THB/RM119,000 per month).

The Rogue accounts for 38% of Nissan's sales in the United States and has previously achieved annual sales of nearly 250,000 units, contributing an operating profit of approximately 100-120 billion yen per year.

Rogue is a highly localized midsize SUV that has been produced in the United States for a long time, with a mature supply chain and manufacturing system. Its reliable 1.5T VC-Turbo engine, a stable four-wheel-drive system, and long-verified durability by North American users are its highlights.

You won’t see the Rogue undergoing drastic redesigns, rapidly adding features, or offering quick discounts in a short period. It doesn’t sell quickly, but it sells steadily.

To further boost Rogue's sales, Nissan decided to launch e-POWER and PHEV versions of the Rogue this year.

Thanks to cost reductions in the third-generation e-POWER, and with the PHEV version adopting Mitsubishi Outlander's existing PHEV technology, the pure electric range under the WLTP standard can reach 80 km. As long as the hybrid version of the Rogue reaches a 30% market share by 2026, an additional profit of approximately 10-20 billion yen per year can be generated.

Launch of Nissan N7 in China in Collaboration with Dongfeng

As an equally important market to North America, the Chinese market has seen continuous sales declines in recent years. To address this, Nissan and its local joint venture partner Dongfeng Motor Group have jointly launched the Nissan N7.

The Nissan N7 is a very practical pure electric sedan. Unlike concept cars that focus on advanced technology or high prices, the development of the N7 is entirely based on the needs of Chinese families. It adopts a brand-new chassis architecture, emphasizing intelligence and comfort, specifically designed for local family daily use, with a starting price of 119,900 yuan (537,200 THB/RM69,700), which is within the price range acceptable to mainstream local families.

The N7 offers multiple battery versions, with the long-range model capable of a range of 625 kilometers (CLTC). The spacious interior is equipped with an intelligent driving assistance system and advanced chips, balancing comfort and technology. These features make the N7 a product that local consumers can easily relate to and accept, with a low entry barrier, no need for market education, and no pressure to offer heavy discounts.

After its launch, the market performance of the N7 proved the stability of Nissan's product strategy. Within just a few weeks, the N7 received tens of thousands of orders, with sales exceeding 10,000 units just 45 days after official delivery. By the end of 2025, cumulative production is expected to approach 50,000 units.

Although its sales figures lag behind certain local Chinese electric vehicle brands, amid Nissan's current pressures in the Chinese market, it is sufficient to stabilize the channels and prevent Nissan from increasing losses due to inventory backlogs and price wars.

Nissan Places Its Growth Expectations in Emerging Markets

In response to the consumption characteristics of emerging markets, transitioning from "feature phones to smartphones" (similar to the mobile phone market), Nissan prioritizes high-value fuel SUVs.

For instance, Nissan has already introduced the Nissan Magnite, produced at its Indian factory, to Southeast Asia. Thanks to local production in India, the per-vehicle cost is 15% lower than imported models, resulting in an 8% year-on-year sales increase in this region during the first half of fiscal year 2025.

At the same time, Nissan will gradually introduce e-POWER models in emerging markets, such as the Nissan KICKS e‑POWER and Nissan Serena e‑POWER. The third-generation e-POWER will continue to be extended to other models, such as the brand-new QASHQAI e‑POWER, which has already been announced for launch in the Australian market in 2026.

What Kind of Nissan Will We See in the Future?

Currently, Nissan is accelerating its electrification efforts, especially in Southeast Asia, where demand for electric vehicles is gradually increasing. Nissan will introduce the Nissan N7 from China.

To support N7 exports, Nissan has partnered with Dongfeng Motor Group (60% owned by Nissan) to form a joint venture responsible for export operations, including customs clearance, logistics, and other services, reducing the delivery time of vehicles from China to Southeast Asia (expected to be cut from 3 months to 1.5 months).

At the same time, leveraging Nissan's decades of dealership networks in Southeast Asia (such as core dealers in Thailand and Indonesia), they will provide after-sales support for new models like the N7.

In addition, Nissan will actively introduce third-generation e-POWER hybrid technology, including the already released Kicks e-POWER.

Hot compact sedan Versa/Almera under Nissan will not be discontinued.A completely new facelift will come with a 1.0T engine, balancing power and fuel efficiency, making it especially suitable for daily commuting and road conditions.

If you like pickups, you can look forward to the all-new evolution of the Frontier/Navara in 2026. It will not only feature design upgrades but also add new onboard entertainment and driver assistance features to compete with the Toyota Hilux.

Even though Nissan is executing a contraction strategy, its transformation in emerging markets is still significant.Nissan originally possessed electric vehicle technology (like the Leaf) and intelligent driving technology (like ProPilot) earlier than Toyota and Honda. However, over the past decade, it has been slow to implement these on a large scale in the market. If Nissan can continue to survive, its electrified models will become trustworthy products.