"Time flies, glory is fleeting, where are the giants of the past now?" This little poem may best summarize the situation of Dongfeng Nissan, China's largest joint venture car company, in recent years. From the glorious achievements of the past, to today's annual sales plummeted by nearly 800,000 units, the capacity utilization rate was less than 50%, and the Changzhou factory had to be closed.
What is the hidden story behind the closure of Nissan's Changzhou plant?
Recently, a news about the closure of Dongfeng Nissan's Changzhou factory, like a thunderbolt on the ground, has aroused widespread concern in the industry. Although Dongfeng Nissan subsequently refuted the rumors, saying that it was only "suspending production", this incident undoubtedly exposed Nissan's plight in China. This factory, which was taken over from Zhengzhou Nissan and put into operation only four years ago, has encountered such a change, which makes people sigh that the world is impermanent.
The closure of the Changzhou plant is just a microcosm of Nissan's plight in China. In fact, Dongfeng Nissan's car-making plants in many parts of the country have a serious shortage of capacity utilization. In order to absorb the excess capacity, it even had to hand over the Wuhan Yunfeng plant to the OEM of the new pure electric family SUV Bosom Friend under VOYAH. The stories behind this scene all reveal Nissan's embarrassing situation in China.
Sales plummeted by 800,000 units, why did Nissan get to this point?
Looking back, Dongfeng Nissan was once a bright star in China's auto market. The joint venture established by Nissan and Dongfeng in 2003 has won the love of countless consumers with its star models such as the Teana, X-Trail and Sylphy. However, time has passed, and Nissan's sales in China have been declining, plummeting by nearly 800,000 units compared to their peak.
The turning point of all this may be traced back to the 2021 X-Trail. At the time, Nissan stubbornly made the model equipped with a three-cylinder engine, but it was met with strong resistance from Chinese consumers, and sales fell off a cliff. This decision-making mistake has deprived Nissan of an important pillar in the Chinese market, leaving only Sylphy struggling to support.
Falling off the altar, what challenges does Nissan face?
Nissan's fall in the Chinese market is not accidental. In addition to its own decision-making mistakes, it also faces fierce competition from local Chinese brands. The fierce price reduction offensive of Chinese automakers such as BYD has caused foreign brands such as Nissan to fall into a downturn in the Chinese market. In particular, the 79,800 yuan plug-in hybrid model Qin PLUS launched by BYD is directly aimed at Nissan's Sylphy, which makes Nissan feel anxious.
At the same time, Nissan also lost the times. As a vested interest in the era of combustion engine vehicles, Nissan's electrification transformation is too slow. Although Dongfeng Nissan launched the pure electric Sylphy as early as 2018, it did not cause much splash and was soon discontinued in a low-key manner. The follow-up pure electric SUV model ARIYA has always had a low market presence due to high prices.
In the face of such a predicament, what is the future of Nissan? This is a question worth pondering. Perhaps, Nissan needs to have a deeper understanding of the Chinese market and a more sensitive grasp of changes in consumer demand in order to regain its position in this land full of opportunities and challenges. After all, the glory of the past is not accidental, as long as you find the right direction and work hard, Nissan can still write a new chapter in the Chinese market. However, this process will undoubtedly be full of hardships and challenges. We look forward to Nissan returning to the Chinese consumer with a new attitude."
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