Nissan plans vehicle export expansion to counter Chinese rivals

Nissan CEO Ivan Espinosa announced that the automaker will rapidly increase its exports of China-developed vehicles from two models to five, targeting 12 regional market clusters in the near term. This strategy aims to defend against aggressive rivals by leveraging local technology, lower costs, and faster development processes. The push comes as intense competition, weakening demand, and a fast shift toward electric vehicles in China have pressured sales. Consequently, Nissan lowered its global sales outlook for the fiscal year ending March 2027 to between 2.97 million and 3 million vehicles. Additionally, Nissan reported a 96% drop in second-quarter operating profit to 2.1 billion yen, falling well below analyst expectations. The automaker continues to advance a turnaround plan focused on reducing its global manufacturing footprint and cutting its workforce by 15%.