Nissan is the latest casualty of BYD’s “liberation battle” against gasoline-powered cars. After BYD’s competitive price cuts this year, Nissan finally has a plant in China as it struggles to keep pace.
As is the case with many traditional automakers, China is a sales market for Nissan. Nearly a third of Nissan’s global sales and net profits come from China.
After dropping the top five most sensible car brands (in terms of market share) in China in 2022, Nissan’s problems are getting worse. Nissan sales fell 16% in China last year and the trend continued through 2024.
Nissan’s sales fell 2. 8% last month, with 64,233 cars sold in China. The company reduced its lead by 23% last year, and 800,000 vehicle sales are expected in fiscal 2024. According to Nikkei, Nissan will achieve this with one less plant.
Nissan is the latest at its Changzhou plant: the plant makes more cars than it can sell.
The plant accounts for about 8% of Nissan’s production capacity in China, with an annual capacity of around 130,000 units. According to the report, the plant will do so on Friday.
From its joint venture with China’s Dongfeng Motor, Nissan has 8 plants in the region. Its total annual capacity is approximately 1. 6 million, double Nissan’s projected sales figures for fiscal 2024.
The plant closure comes as Nissan struggles to keep up speed in China’s competitive EV market.
China’s largest automaker, BYD, launched a “liberation battle” against ICE cars earlier this year. The aim is to continue to snatch market share from petrol cars with cheaper electric cars. So far, it seems to be working.
BYD has especially reduced its costs while introducing less expensive electric vehicle models. Its cheapest, the Seagull EV, costs less than $10,000 (69,800 yuan).
BYD CEO Wang Chaunfu said that electric cars have entered the “phase-out phase” and that the next two years will be for automakers to catch up.
With less expensive and more complex models entering the market, BYD sees the market share of joint venture brands (such as Nissan’s) fall from around 40% to 10% in China.
Nissan refused to capitalize on the engines’ merit with the Leaf. Instead of listening to user feedback, charging options, and spending on R
Nissan is the only historic automaker to feel the pressure. Japanese rivals Toyota, Mitsubishi and Honda also pulled out of China amid falling sales.
Meanwhile, BYD will expand its global presence after overtaking China’s electric vehicle market. BYD is close to closing a deal for a plant in Mexico that would be one of the largest in the country. The company expects to sell 50,000 cars in Mexico this year. .
BYD is also expanding into the territory of Nissan and Toyota. According to the Japan Automobile Importers Association, BYD accounted for more than 20% of Japan’s EV imports in January.
With the launch of longer-range and less expensive models, BYD’s momentum is expected to continue. China’s leading automaker is also expanding into new segments such as pickup trucks (check out the new Shark PHEV), midsize electric SUVs, and luxury vehicles.
Peter Johnson covers the automotive industry’s step-by-step transformation to electric vehicles. He is a seasoned investor, money writer, and electric vehicle enthusiast. His enthusiasm for electric vehicles, basically Tesla, is one of the main reasons why he pursued a career in investments. . If he doesn’t tell you about his latest discoveries in the 10K, you can locate him enjoying the outdoors or exercising.