The rise and fall of Nissan Motors: Global icon to industry underdog

The automaker that hit 8% U.S. market share chasing innovation — then chased 10% with discounts and lost $6.2 billion instead.

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By The Numbers

830,000

cars sold annually at peak

$25B

debt at crisis point

-40%

global sales drop since 2017

What They Nailed Early

Built sporty, reliable cars for everyday drivers — the 240Z outsold British rivals, and models like the Maxima became Japanese BMWs. Hit 830,000 sales by 1985, rivaling Toyota and Honda.

What Changed

Chased growth at all costs in the 2010s. Flooded dealers with fleet sales and $3,400 incentives (double Honda's), pushing for 10% market share. Profits tanked 9% in one quarter. Then CEO Carlos Ghosn was arrested in 2018, triggering a boardroom civil war that paralyzed product development for years.

Where it Landed

Down 40% in global sales since 2017. Stock crashed 70%. Lost $4.3B last year. New CEO cutting 20,000 jobs and 7 plants. Showrooms still look like 2018 — no hybrids, outdated EVs. Survival uncertain.

The Principles

Revenue growth without profit is a death spiral. Nissan hit 9.7% share but profits dropped 9% — incentives and fleet sales are sugar highs that rot margins.

Misaligned ownership creates corporate civil war. Renault controlled Nissan with voting shares; Nissan had none. When crisis hit, executives turned on each other instead of customers.

Product cycles expose leadership dysfunction years later. 2025's stale showroom reflects 2017's boardroom chaos — car design takes 4-7 years, so today's weakness echoes yesterday's distraction.

Builder's Takeaway

3 warning signs your growth plan is actually a profit bonfire:

•

Incentives above competitors signal desperation, not demand — double their spend means half your margin

•

Fleet sales juice volume but kill brand value and resale prices downstream

•

Governance imbalance invites internal warfare when external pressure hits — fix structure before crisis

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