Investors Remain Skeptical Of Nissan's Turnaround Prospects
Nissan is attempting to rebound from a desperate financial situation that nearly led to a merger with Honda, but some investors aren't waiting around to see whether the automaker pulls it off. One of them just happens to be another large automaker.
Mercedes-Benz has offloaded a 3.8% stake in Nissan held by its pension trust for 47.8 billion yen ($324.6 million at current exchange rates), according to a report by Automotive News Europe that cited anonymous sources familiar with the matter.
Past Partnership
Just before the reported sale, a Mercedes spokesperson told Automotive News Europe that the Nissan stake, which Mercedes transferred to its pension trust in 2016, was not of strategic importance and that the sale was merely part of a cleaning out of the portfolio. It's also a reminder of the years of close collaboration between the automakers.
Nissan and Mercedes parent Daimler entered into a strategic partnership in 2009 that, over its duration, encompassed joint manufacturing and an unusual re-badging situation that saw the Mercedes-Benz GLA-Class transform into the Infiniti QX30 for the U.S. market, while the Nissan Navarra pickup was re-badged as the Mercedes-Benz X-Class for other markets. Daimler also co-developed the final generation of its Smart Fortwo and Forfour with the Renault Clio from Nissan's alliance partner.
Renault owns 35.7% of Nissan, of which 17.0% is held directly and the rest through a trust, making it the top shareholder in the Japanese automaker. But it's now also looking to unload shares, having concluded a deal with Nissan that lowers its minimum commitment from a 15% to 10% stake. As Mercedes undertook the sale of its stake, Nissan's stock was headed for its worst day since July, according to Automotive News Europe.
Turnaround Plan Implemented
Nissan
Nissan is still looking for a way to reverse a longtime decline in sales and restore profitability. The situation came to a head in late 2024 when it looked like Nissan and Honda would bow to pressure from the Japanese government and merge. A 2026 merger was officially the plan for a few months, but was called off after disagreements about what form the merged automaker would take.
New CEO Ivan Espinosa, who took over in April, has unveiled a turnaround plan called Re:Nissan to restore profitability that includes cutting global production capacity to 2.5 million vehicles (from today's 3.5 million) and reducing the number of manufacturing sites from 17 to 10 by the 2027 fiscal year. So far Nissan has confirmed plans to shutter plants in Mexico and its storied Oppama plant in Japan.
Despite the cuts, Nissan is also moving ahead with much-needed new cars, with plans to roll out 10 new or refreshed models by 2027. That includes the 2026 Nissan Leaf, which launches with an impressively low price, a redesigned Rogue that will finally bring Nissan's e-Power hybrid system to the U.S., and possibly an Infiniti Q50 revival with a manual transmission. But will all of this happen quickly enough to satisfy impatient investors?
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