Nissan may sell its HQ to save funds

Amid a series of cost-cutting efforts (outlined here) in its fight for survival, Nissan may sell off its global headquarters.

Following a massive loss reported for the last financial year the struggling Japanese automaker may sell off its Yokohama base. Located in the Minato-Mirai 21 district, the building is estimated to be worth over 100 billion yen ($NZ1.2b).

Now Nikkei Asia reports the building appears on a list of assets Nissan intends to sell before the end of the financial year. The company’s newly appointed CEO, Ivan Espinosa, has announced upcoming asset sales. However, he has not yet specifically mentioned Nissan HQ.

If it does sell, it may lease the building instead. McLaren did a similar thing a few years ago.

Nissan is embarking on a major cost-cutting scheme. It will likely close up to seven factories, including two domestic sites. The workforce will significantly downsize, with 20,000 jobs going in the coming years. 

Espinosa said that former management mishandled things by opting to go large in 2015. Nissan started building more plant and was aiming for sales of eight million units eventually. Now it is selling under half that annually.

Nissan is also halting the development of certain models to cut costs. Six vehicle platforms will go, leaving just seven in the line-up. The company is also busy unifying more products and in doing so will reduce parts complexity by 70 percent. Nissan is also trying to determine how to survive on its own after a recent failed merger with Honda. Around 3000 R&D staff are now working on cost cutting initiatives.

Badge-engineered cars like the Micra/Renault 5 will help bring new models to market at a reduced cost. Nissan will also strengthen its partnership with Mitsubishi to accelerate the development of new products. 

It might even allow its Chinese partner, Dongfeng, to build cars at some of its underused factories, like Sunderland.