Nissan bosses believe car market will pick up despite £1.58bn loss
May 13 2009 by Karen Dent, The Journal
NISSAN yesterday revealed it has plunged into the red – but bosses said they can see glimmers of hope for the battered car market.
The Japanese car maker which announced at the weekend it was creating 150 temporary jobs at its Washington plant to meet demand from Europe, made the massive annual loss of £1.58bnfor the year to the end of March – after reporting a £3.26bn profit in 2008.
However, the loss announced yesterday was better than analysts had predicted and Nissan – which axed 1,200 jobs in Sunderland this year – is now aiming to reduce the deficit by £405m next year.
Nissan president and chief executive Carlos Ghosn said: “The global economic recession and financial crisis continue, but we are beginning to see some signs of improved access to credit, the impact of government stimulus packages and a gradual return in consumer confidence.
“We remain cautious about the economic environment and fully focused on our company’s recovery efforts.”
The company has been hit hard by the near collapse of the global new car market but its 22% drop in sales to £57bn was better than initially forecast.
Nissan sold 3.4 million vehicles worldwide – a drop of 9.5% on the previous year. The US market was worst hit, with a 19.1% fall in sales, followed by Europe where they dipped by 16.7% to 530,000 cars. However, sales rose in China.
The 1,200 job losses in Sunderland were followed by an announcement that 20,000 would go internationally this year. Nissan employs 4,800 British staff spread across its Sunderland plant, UK head office in Hertfordshire, European design headquarters in west London and an engineering site in Bedfordshire.
