Something is rotten in the nation of Nissan
Dear readers, with due apologies for the title, which is a quote from the title on the reputable Jalopnik portal, I am attaching an analysis of Nissan’s operations on the global market as well as on the Serbian market in the form of a response to Adriatic Auto doo to a number of accusations which they presented on our occasion writing about the current problems of the Nissan brand. All analyzes are based on Bloomberg, Jalopnik and data from the Vrela Guma archive as well as statistical data obtained from the Association of Automobile Importers in Serbia.
Dear representatives of Adriatic Auto doo, represented by director Vladimir Nikčević,
in the context of your reaction to the text “How Nissan Failed” published on this portal, which is full of personal and professional contempt, insults, arrogance, threats and of course taking many of the statements of the mentioned text out of context, I consider it necessary to respond to the same out of respect for the objective information, but also your personal and professional integrity.
Apart from the fact that such an official reaction is completely unusual because it reveals your “holes” in information, but also in a business and human context, it is also proof of how the personal is transferred to the business and how to hide nicely in the shade behind a big brand and corporate seal and believe that you are exactly that brand.
Vladimir, you and your colleagues are sitting where you are, among other things, thanks to the foundations of the company, which were laid more than two decades ago by a small but strong team. Ken. That fact alone, if we ignore our leading ratings in the region, would already be enough for a minimum of respect in addressing the oldest and most popular automotive-nautical professional journalist, also in the region.
That, Vladimir, is part of general and not business culture, as well as the fact that for at least ten years you avoid looking me in the eyes, saying good morning and extending your hand. Why? Only you know that!
Readers and viewers should finally realize that where you are (from the representative office of the Renault-Nissan group to Adriatic Auto), there is neither a test car nor any exchange of information between us, more precisely your Nissan company and the Vrela Guma media organization, the iconic automotive newsroom that has been around for 32 years. In what has been said, I do not count this letter of yours, which is our first (both official and unofficial) communication in at least ten years. It is probably also part of your understanding of professionalism that you are referring to? Well, the threat of LAWSUIT!
To be clear, Vladimir, I have driven, tested, filmed and reviewed all the previous and current models of Nissan. I did not broadcast precisely for the sake of professionalism, because we are not a group of street racers and grandmothers who repeat trite phrases from reviews, but serious people, professionals, which is proven by the readership of the controversial article, which had a greater reach than the monthly readership of all specialized auto media in Serbia (together). . Because the “Mystery shopper” principle was not invented by me, but I applied it in the case of Nissan.
Let me return to the essence, to Nissan. Unlike you and others like you, which brand you observe and perceive as buyers in expensive suits, who buy cheaper to sell more expensive, I and thousands of other motoring fans experience Nissan with our hearts. And that’s the topic of the text! Emotion, Vladimir, not an Excel table! Nissan’s current figures are very bad, it is sold as a pump life belt in various ways, in this case with suicidal discounts and rebates, and most likely they are the swan song of this brand. More on that later!
Let’s start in order
1.It is clear to everyone, including you, that Nissan is no longer the Nissan from the beginning of this century and right now it is back on the cliff it was on before the arrival of Carlos Ghosn. Let me remind you, in 1999, Louis Schweitzer, the then CEO of Renault, sent Ghosn to the head of Nissan because Renault covered the debt to Nissan’s suppliers of 5.4 billion (then) dollars and in that name took over 36.6% of the company’s ownership. After that, everything is history…
2. Although nothing is as it once was, instead of the traditional originality and recognition of the brand, we got an automotive confection that is in no way different from a Kia or Skoda, and which, to my great regret, China will probably blow away in the next five years with world car maps. Unless, of course, something changes in the approach. This is my free estimate from an analysis of global Nissan figures.
Of course, I see your corporate eulogies about your own success and sales growth percentages in Serbia differently.
You only lacked a Chinese electronic board to explain, to make the people understand, since you obviously adopted the same manners of dealing with the media.
3. Speaking of numbers, required evidence and arguments, as a journalist with 32 years of experience, I would not allow myself to write without analysis and arguments, and in my notes it says:
SERBIA*
– Nissan 2018 year, 740 units sold, market share 2.4%
-Nissan 2023 year, 504 units sold, market share 1.6%
– Toyota 2018, 1,351 units sold, market share 4.39%
-Toyota 2023 year, 2,546 units sold, market share 8.3%
– MG and Chery 2024. collectively sold in 2024, 550 units, market share 2.1%
*Source: Vrele Gume archive/Association of importers
GLOBALLY*
– Nissan China sales in 2024: Sales decline in the amount of -24%
– Nissan Global 2024: -5.5% in August (this is the fifth consecutive month of sales decline)
– Nissan III quarter 2024: drop in operating profit 99%
*Izvor: Bloomberg
4. Nissan at the moment has two key focal points that are causing it to swing dangerously, to put it mildly, because my distinguished colleagues from America are significantly more direct in the title* (*quote in Google translation). The reason for this is primarily what is happening in the markets of China and America, which are the basis of Nissan’s strategy and where it has sold as much as 50% of its cars globally. This year alone in China, they lost a quarter of the planned placement (-24%), which with the reduction of production in previous years results in the closing of their factory in China soon. The reason is simple, the Chinese customer is looking for a sophisticated EV, and Nissan is at least 3-4 years away from it, if it ever gets there, because then there will probably be even more sophisticated autonomous models.
5. An additional problem for Nissan is the political abandonment of the Russian market and the closing of the factory there, which was the global golden cock of this brand. Guess who’s finishing their cars at that factory now? The Chinese Chery that took over is estimated to be around 20% of the Russian market!
6. During that time, the black clouds from China that loomed over the entire automotive industry, like a hurricane of the fifth category, swept everything in front of it, especially the “undermining” brands. Nissan is one of them due to the fact that it does NOT have an adequate electric model to compete in China (nobody buys classic cars there anymore) and that it does NOT currently have a proven hybrid model that is necessary to survive in America. Europe has never been a winning ticket for Nissan.
Such a large drop in global operating profit (a key indicator of business) is only the tip of the iceberg that does not bode well for Nissan, and the task of an independent journalist is to investigate, process and market it as information, because the audience needs to know it and weigh it accordingly when buying a car.
7. Here we come to your legal “trick” claim Adriatic Auto DOO that I, Miodrag Piroški from Serbia, Novi Sad, am lowering the company’s credit rating with the aforementioned announcement.
Realistically if your creditors don’t know, I am now informing them, (as Bloomberg writes) that during 2024, Nissan shares lost almost a third of their value (27%) due to the above facts.
Nissan’s credit rating is marked by alarming headlines by global analysts on this topic, while S&P Global (the world’s leading institution for financial information and analytics) lowered Nissan’s credit rating to “JUNK” (look up the meaning in the dictionary).
An additional “difficulty” for Nissan is that according to the rebalancing agreement with Renault, they have to invest in the purchase of their shares in this situation, worth almost 80 billion yen, or about 500 million USD. If I were your creditor, I would seriously wonder what would happen to you if the Nissan “broke”. Enough to pull the trigger in the vault! But Vladimir, we are not children and we, better informed, know that money is not a problem for you! Is that right? Let the audience know now!
8. Let me take a look back at Serbia and publish a few sentences that I gentlemanly kept silent in the original text, as well as the above-mentioned global problematic trends. A good example of where Nissan is today on the Serbian market are, say, two brands from China (MG and Chery) that didn’t even exist two years ago. Together, they sold more vehicles this year than all of Nissan in Serbia. Why is that so? Because already this generation, for example, MG is in no way worse than the Nissan Qashqai, and they also have an excellent electric MG4. Best in class! I guarantee that with my head and chin!
Not to mention the Chery models, they are already a different dimension of cars, and the characteristics of the next generation of Chery will probably be an impossible mission for a Nissan like this. Of course, the numbers have something to say here too, because since it was “registered” on the Serbian sales chart (June 2023) until September 2024, the Chinese brand Chery (with a very bad history in Serbia) has sold 306 units, or more than half of Nissan’s sales in the same year. Let me remind you that Nissan is a brand that has existed since 1930. Further, from these trends, I expect that in 2025 Chery’s sales result will be at the level of Nissan’s sales. And in 2027, let’s say…? I’m scared to even think about it.
To conclude, unlike you Vladimir or you at Adriatic Auto DOO, for me Nissan is not a job but an unrepentant love, because when I wanted it I couldn’t have it.
Every new Nissan on the street, with every right, pleases its owner, my heart, and yours, that is, your wallet, which I really have no intention of looking into in the spirit of the old Jewish proverb “live and let live”.
This is precisely why our views on the world and Nissan are completely different. And my job is to inform the audience, to influence consumer awareness. It’s up to that audience to believe or not, because we haven’t (yet) become North Korea where anyone decides what and how I’m going to write.
That’s why, Vladimir, you, as the person at the head of your Nissan professional team, make coffee, extend your hand, look me in the eyes and prepare the Nissan test cars so that our cooperation will come to life after a decade and more, because the devil has taken away a joke for Nissan, and a kind word and he opens the iron gate. Or take another path, every decision will be your mirror.
Until then, sit back, play the NovaS channel today, and enjoy the 1,260th consecutive episode of the TV show that I am the author and editor of (the length of that series is about 315 two-hour films). I especially recommend the contribution created in the gastronomic circle around Hungary, with Renaut Rafal on his e-Tech hybrid technology. Also one of the models from a different constellation compared to Nissan.
Have you ever wondered why hybrid e-tech technology is not in Nissan cars? I did and I know why…
The most natural lesson of all: If you want to fly with eagles, you can’t dine with (media) chickens!
Sincerely: Miodrag Piroški
ps you can consider this text as my answer to the lawsuit, if you decide to do so.
Source: vrelegume.rs
