Nissan sees smaller loss as cost-cutting drive accelerates

Nissan Motor Co. said it’s progressing in a push to recover from its worst financial crisis in decades, with the automaker narrowing a full-year loss forecast as a cost-cutting drive ramps up.

The Japanese carmaker said Thursday it expects to report a ¥60 billion ($392 million) operating loss for the fiscal year ending March 2026. That’s up from a previous outlook for a ¥275 billion loss.

Nissan also said it expects to report a full-year net loss of ¥650 billion - the first time it has given a forecast - as well as net sales of ¥11.9 trillion. Its third-quarter operating income was about ¥18 billion.

The brighter outlook gives Chief Executive Officer Ivan Espinosa some breathing room as he pushes forward with a broad restructuring that will see Nissan cut 20,000 jobs and shutter seven factories. The carmaker delivered over ¥80 billion in fixed-cost reductions in the first half and said it’s confident it will surpass its ¥250 billion target by fiscal 2026.

“This has been a quarter of tangible progress,” Espinosa said at a briefing. “Nissan is on the right track to recovery.”

Despite the progress, there’s still pressure on Espinosa, who took the helm in April last year following the failed attempt to join forces with Honda Motor Co., to turn around the struggling automaker.

“Nissan’s efforts to reduce costs, lower fixed expenses, and advance structural reforms deserve recognition,” said Bloomberg Intelligence senior auto analyst Tatsuo Yoshida.

“Nonetheless, the core automotive business still lacks momentum. The earnings improvement relies heavily on restraint and cost discipline rather than on stronger underlying demand, raising concerns about the quality and durability of the recovery,” he said.

For Espinosa, much is riding on Nissan’s refresh of an aging lineup that’s falling flat with consumers.

The carmaker has given its Leaf electric vehicle a facelift and updated one of its popular kei mini-cars. Other releases include new versions of the Elgrand minivan and the Kicks subcompact crossover. In the US, Nissan launched an all-new version of its entry-level Sentra sedan last year, and plans a plug-in hybrid option for its top-selling Rogue compact SUV in early 2026.

Despite those efforts, Nissan faces headwinds from its weak sales in China. While Toyota Motor Corp. has regained a degree of stability there, Nissan and its peers are rapidly losing ground in the world’s biggest auto market.

Meanwhile, sales are on the decline in the US, where President Donald Trump’s 15% tariffs on cars and parts imported from Japan are also buffeting its business.

Beyond those factors, Nissan has its own internal challenges as it faces a wall of debt obligations due this year, and seeks to raise more than ¥1 trillion from debt and asset sales.