Nissan's empty product pipeline

[KROM]

When Carlos Ghosn, the charismatic chief executive of Nissan, took the helm of the embattled automaker seven years ago, he was eyed by Japanese employees with a mix of curiosity and trepidation.

After engineering a remarkable turnaround at Japan's second-largest carmaker, however, much of the wariness melted away and Mr Ghosn morphed into a domestic celebrity.

Now, for the first time under Mr Ghosn's leadership, confidence in Nissan has started to wane. Group operating profit plunged 15 per cent in the first half of the year, marking the first such decline in eight years. Domestic output, domestic sales, overseas production and exports also all fell in six months to September 30, setting it apart from its peers - Toyota and Honda - which are steadily grabbing market share in the US at the expense of Detroit.

The root of the problem was that Nissan's product pipeline in the first half to September 30 was essentially bare. The company, 44 per cent owned by Renault, launched only one commercial truck in the six months, though it will roll out nine new models in the second half of the fiscal year ending next March.

"We are very far from our potential...we are suffering from a product drought," said Mr Ghosn at a press conference. "Nowhere in the foreseeable future will we have a low product (pipeline) as we have had in the past 12 months."

Analysts today are questioning whether Mr Ghosn put too much of a focus on short-term "commitments", or sales targets, at the cost of longer-term profitability and growth.

In particular, observers say.............
http://search.ft.com/searchResults?q...ptEnabled=true

I guess flash-in-the-pan styling only goes so far toward a complete turn around.
Sentra - UGLY
Altima - borderline UGLY
Minivan thingie - Obviously UGLY
Titan - fuhgetaboutit
Large SUV's - Hello McFly...Hello!!!!

Of course some of this is only my never-to-be modest opinion

[69Firebird400]

I'll agree with you ont he Sentra (total lack of styling inspiration) and the Quest minivan (looks way too fat in the rump, and the interior design was obviously enough of a disaster to do Nissan's most expensive mid-cycle enhancement in its history). The large trucks are also somewhat uninspiring, although I don't think they're ugly. The new Altima, while definitely not original, is not ugly - too bad it looks very much like a 2002 model, even though it's a completely new car. I also don't think Nissan's decision to put CVTs as their only automatic transmission offerings in the Sentra, Altima, and Maxima will win them many fans.

Perhaps I'm biased as the owner of a 2005 Pathfinder, but I actually find its styling somewhat attractive - there have been several derivative designs on the Frontier/Pathfinder look (most recently, the Dodge Nitro and Dodge Hornet). Not the most beautiful vehicle on the road, but at least it's original, and the styling seems to fit better with the midsize platform than the full-size one.

Just my opinion, though.

[SobeSVT]

Originally Posted by KROM

When Carlos Ghosn, the charismatic chief executive of Nissan, took the helm of the embattled automaker seven years ago, he was eyed by Japanese employees with a mix of curiosity and trepidation.

After engineering a remarkable turnaround at Japan's second-largest carmaker, however, much of the wariness melted away and Mr Ghosn morphed into a domestic celebrity.

Now, for the first time under Mr Ghosn's leadership, confidence in Nissan has started to wane. Group operating profit plunged 15 per cent in the first half of the year, marking the first such decline in eight years. Domestic output, domestic sales, overseas production and exports also all fell in six months to September 30, setting it apart from its peers - Toyota and Honda - which are steadily grabbing market share in the US at the expense of Detroit.

The root of the problem was that Nissan's product pipeline in the first half to September 30 was essentially bare. The company, 44 per cent owned by Renault, launched only one commercial truck in the six months, though it will roll out nine new models in the second half of the fiscal year ending next March.

"We are very far from our potential...we are suffering from a product drought," said Mr Ghosn at a press conference. "Nowhere in the foreseeable future will we have a low product (pipeline) as we have had in the past 12 months."

Analysts today are questioning whether Mr Ghosn put too much of a focus on short-term "commitments", or sales targets, at the cost of longer-term profitability and growth.

In particular, observers say.............
http://search.ft.com/searchResults?q...ptEnabled=true

I guess flash-in-the-pan styling only goes so far toward a complete turn around.
Sentra - UGLY
Altima - borderline UGLY
Minivan thingie - Obviously UGLY
Titan - fuhgetaboutit
Large SUV's - Hello McFly...Hello!!!!

Of course some of this is only my never-to-be modest opinion

Carlitos Ghosn has been riding in the wave of the success of a line of products which components were ready or almost ready by the time he got to be the big boss at Nissan. His forte is cost cutting (pretty much like his friend Jacques Nasser) and that shows big time in the Nissan line, but cleverly enough not in the Infiniti line.

Ghosn hasn't shown any hint about whether or not he can deliver product. His very first baby will be this upcoming Altima which frankly doesn't look to different than the car it replaces, so we see that Mr. Gohsn doesn't like to take many risks and likes to stick with what works for him . . . we will see.

[megeebee]

Originally Posted by SobeSVT

Carlitos Ghosn has been riding in the wave of the success of a line of products which components were ready or almost ready by the time he got to be the big boss at Nissan. His forte is cost cutting (pretty much like his friend Jacques Nasser) and that shows big time in the Nissan line, but cleverly enough not in the Infiniti line.

Ghosn hasn't shown any hint about whether or not he can deliver product. His very first baby will be this upcoming Altima which frankly doesn't look to different than the car it replaces, so we see that Mr. Gohsn doesn't like to take many risks and likes to stick with what works for him . . . we will see.

Word.

[69Firebird400]

Originally Posted by SobeSVT

Carlitos Ghosn has been riding in the wave of the success of a line of products which components were ready or almost ready by the time he got to be the big boss at Nissan. His forte is cost cutting (pretty much like his friend Jacques Nasser) and that shows big time in the Nissan line, but cleverly enough not in the Infiniti line.

Ghosn hasn't shown any hint about whether or not he can deliver product. His very first baby will be this upcoming Altima which frankly doesn't look to different than the car it replaces, so we see that Mr. Gohsn doesn't like to take many risks and likes to stick with what works for him . . . we will see.

Actually the original G35 did show signs of cost cutting - many have pointed out that there was a lot of hard plastic on the dash and that the interior generally didn't seem appropriate for a luxury brand auto. The 2007 version seems to address the interior quality issues, at least from photos I have seen. I haven't yet stroked the dash, though.

Otherwise I agree with your points about Ghosn.

[SobeSVT]

Originally Posted by 69Firebird400

Actually the original G35 did show signs of cost cutting - many have pointed out that there was a lot of hard plastic on the dash and that the interior generally didn't seem appropriate for a luxury brand auto. The 2007 version seems to address the interior quality issues, at least from photos I have seen. I haven't yet stroked the dash, though.

Otherwise I agree with your points about Ghosn.

You are right, I was just being cutting some slack to the G35 and also to the QX56 for that matter. Especially because in the case of the G35 it turned out to be a pretty decent near luxury sedan.

[Psionic Wibbly]

Autonews Reports that the oct-march 2007 sales for nissan are likely to jump by 16%.

hardly a poor performance!

Most Japanese expect sales to soar in next 6 months

Automotive News / November 6, 2006 - 1:00 am

Nissan (projected sales oct 06-march 2007) = 587,000; +16.50% (as compared to oct 05-march 2006)

http://www.autonews.com/apps/pbcs.dl...0of%20Contents

[likearock00]

Originally Posted by Mags

That's ridiculous.

My projected salary for the same period is 4 billion dollars.

It means nothing.

MF

LOL!!

I think we have some Nissan bashers here now, huh? Nissan makes some good cars, and they should be commended for that. They will do just fine. I think they have a pretty darn good product line. The article and Ghosn are talking about a product deficit in their truck line last year. That was the past, so let's see what the future holds for 'em!!