Nissan Is Having A Terrible Time, And Trump Might Be About To Make It A Whole Lot Worse

The Kicks is one of several models Nissan manufactures in Mexico.

Nora Naughton, Business Insider

• Nissan is facing a fight to turn around its ailing business after sales and profits plunged.
• Trump's proposed tariffs on Mexico could make that difficult.
• Nearly one in four Nissan vehicles were made in Mexico last month, the company said on Thursday.

Nissan has had a tough 2024, and proposed tariffs from the incoming Trump administration are yet another obstacle to its turnaround plans.

The Japanese automaker has slashed its workforce as sales and profits have plunged amid growing competition from Chinese rivals, and its latest production figures for October make for particularly difficult reading.

Figures released on Thursday showed that vehicle production has dropped dramatically in all of Nissan's major markets this year except Mexico, where it rose nearly 10% compared to 2023. Overall, global production was down 7.1% in the first 10 months of 2024 compared to the previous year.

Nearly one in four Nissan vehicles made globally last month were built in Mexico, meaning the Japanese manufacturer is highly exposed to the tariffs proposed by incoming US president Donald Trump.

The president-elect has said he would impose blanket import taxes of 25% on all goods entering the US from Mexico and Canada on his first day in office and floated the idea of imposing 200% tariffs on vehicles imported from Mexico on the campaign trail.

Experts previously told Business Insider that any tariffs on trade with Mexico would have a dire impact on the US auto industry and likely increase vehicle prices.

Nissan would be one of the automakers worst-hit by the tariffs. The company has four production sites in Mexico, where it makes models including the Sentra, Versa, and Kicks.

Nissan's global sales in October were down nearly 2.7% from the previous year. The carmaker recorded double-digit drops in both China and Europe but saw sales rise in the US for the first time in three months.

The looming threat of tariffs adds to Nissan's considerable list of problems.

The automaker announced earlier this month that it would cut 9,000 jobs and 20% of its manufacturing capacity. Profit for the quarter ending in September fell to around $210 million, down from $1.4 billion over the same period last year.

Nissan is reportedly searching for extra investors after European partner Renault sold some of its holdings. A senior official close to the company told The Financial Times that Nissan has "12 or 14 months to survive."

Japan's automakers face a reckoning

Along with rivals Honda and Toyota, Nissan has come under pressure from Chinese automakers. These companies are eating into Nissan's market share in China with affordable EVs and rapidly expanding into developing markets dominated by Japanese companies.

Toyota, Honda, and Nissan are also facing a reckoning over their handling of the transition to electric vehicles. The three automakers have prioritized hybrids over pure battery-electric vehicles, a strategy that has boosted sales in the US but left them lagging behind local rivals like BYD in China.

"At the end of the day, the hybrid strategy worked in Japan, worked in the US, and worked very well in Europe, but that's not the case in China," analyst Felipe Munoz previously told Business Insider.

Nissan did not immediately respond to a request for comment from Business Insider, sent outside normal working hours.