Nissan, headquartered in Nishi-ku, Yokohama, Japan is a multinational automobile manufacturer ranked among the largest in the world. In 2013, after Toyota, General Motors, Volkswagen Group, Hyundai Motor Group, and Ford, it came in sixth as the largest automaker in the world. Nissan formed the Renault–Nissan–Mitsubishi Alliance with the other two car manufacturers in 1999 (Nissan, 2018). The discussion below will delve into the main changes that have occurred in Nissan from 2013 up to date. It will also talk about how the strengths of the company have evolved over said period, its weaknesses, how its opportunities have evolved and what the author considers to be threats to the company in the same period.
DISCUSSION
Changes from 2013 to date
Much of the positive changes at Nissan has been credited to Carlos Ghosn, Nissan’s CEO, who has been steering affairs of the company since 1999 when Nissan formed the Renault-Nissan alliance. He is credited with increasing revenues by 18% annually since 2013. In addition to this, Nissan’s net income grew by 16% annually while its operating profit increased by 26.4% annually. Carlos Ghosn stepped down as CEO in April 2017 and was later fired for underreporting his income in Japan on November 19, 2018 (Nissan, 2018; Jurevicius, 2016).
He also oversaw the research and development of the Nissan Leaf, a fully electric vehicle which has been the most successful EV so far. As at September, 2018, the Leaf had sold 350, 000 units around the world (Nissan, 2018).
How the strengths of Nissan have evolved since 2013
Nissan has become a major player in the electric vehicle (EV) market. With the introduction of the Nissan Leaf into the Japanese and US markets in 2010, it has won much acclaim around the world and has continued to build on its accolades such as the World Car of the Year award (2011), 2011 – 2012 Car of the Year Japan and the European Car of the Year, 2011 (Nissan, 2018).
This evolution is very necessary since it is projected that the number of EV vehicles on the road will increase to 125 million in 2030, according to the International Energy Agency (IEA). As more and more consumers focus on energy efficiency and green energy, it is smart for any automaker to move in this direction and in this regard Nissan has had a head start (DiChristopher, 2018).
Weaknesses of Nissan
The main flaw with Nissan as pointed out by many business analysts has been its inability to present a formidable brand image as should be expected to be proportionate to its advertising budget. In 2015, Nissan spent US$2.85 billion on advertising alone, outspending more visible brands like Audi and Honda but gained almost nothing in terms of brand presence in that same year. This is even worse because no brand rating agency has included Nissan among the world’s top 100 most revered brands. This means Nissan has more work to do in the advertising and marketing department (Jurevicius, 2016).
How Nissan’s opportunities have evolved since 2013
Between 2008 and 2016, the US government under the presidency of Barack Obama put in many regulations to curb carbon emissions and thus provided incentive for companies to move towards greener energy. This meant that companies like Tesla were better positioned to do well in the automobile market with their touting of electric vehicles as the more environmentally friendlier option. This also was projected to give the Nissan Leaf for example, an advantage. However, since Donald Trump became president, rolling back some of these regulations through the US Environmental Protection Agency, growth of the market is expected to slow down. Nissan must adjust to these market forces accordingly although the eventual ubiquity of EVs is said to be inevitable by analysts (Holden, 2018; DiChristopher, 2018).
Threats to Nissan Since 2013
With poorer advertising and marketing skills, it is feared that Nissan may lose market share to more visible brands like Mercedes-Benz, Ford Motors, Toyota, Audi and Honda among others. Already the car market is already flooded with more units that the market demands. In 2015, for example, there was an excess of 31 million vehicles on the global market. In the EV section electric car companies such as Tesla and other traditional automakers like Audi, Ford, Toyota, Mercedes-Benz are all introducing EVs which is likely to take away from the Nissan Leaf’s market share if more rigorous marketing is not undertaken (Jurevicius, 2016; Strategic Management Insight, 2016).
CONCLUSION
Generally, the Nissan brand has a favorable image although not a very formidable one. It is imperative that Nissan sharpen its marketing edge so as to give it a competitive advantage. No matter how good a product is, it is not of much value unless consumers are convinced of the company’s value proposition.
REFERENCES
DiChristopher, T. (2018, May 15). Electric vehicles will grow from 3 million to 125 million by 2030, International Energy Agency forecasts. CNBC. Retrieved from: https://www.cnbc.com/2018/05/30/electric-vehicles-will-grow-from-3-million-to-125-million-by-2030-iea.html
Holden, E. (2018, September 18). Trump administration rolls back methane pollution rule despite harmful health impacts. The Guardian.
Jurevicius, O. (2016, November 05). SWOT analysis of Nissan. Strategic Management Insight. Retrieved from:
Retrieved from: https://www.theguardian.com/environment/2018/sep/18/epa-methane-pollution-rule-rolled-back-health-warning
Strategic Management Insight (2016). Ford SWOT analysis 2016 Retrieved from: https://www.strategicmanagementinsight.com/swot-analyses/ford-swot-analysis.html
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