Nissan may be on the verge of appointing a new CEO for the company, as the matter is set to be discussed in a board meeting scheduled for March 11.
According to “Reuters,” the position of current CEO, Makoto Uchida, has become untenable due to the performance of the third-largest Japanese automaker, which continues to decline.
“Reuters,” citing sources connected to Nissan, reports that Uchida’s position may be hanging by a “thread,” with candidates for the CEO role including Chief Financial Officer Jeremie Papin and Planning Director Ivan Espinosa, despite their association with the current management’s mistakes at the Japanese brand.
The potential departure of Uchida began to take shape following the failure of negotiations for a merger with Honda last month.
Recall that Honda and Nissan announced negotiations at the end of 2024 to potentially create the world’s third-largest automaker in terms of sales, behind Toyota and Volkswagen. The merger, which would also involve Mitsubishi Motors, aimed to reduce costs and increase competitiveness in electric vehicles (EVs) and autonomous driving technology.
However, in February, the negotiations failed, plunging Nissan into even more uncertainty at a time when Chinese electric vehicle companies are revolutionizing the industry.
At the heart of the failure of negotiations between the two Japanese builders was Honda’s proposal to turn Nissan into a wholly-owned subsidiary within the joint structure, which the latter immediately rejected.
