Carlos Ghosn, the former Nissan chairman who fled Japan in 2019, says the automaker's shareholders are fed up. In comments to Reuters after a failed push to bring him back at Nissan's annual meeting on Tuesday, Ghosn argued the company has lost its way since his arrest and ouster in 2018.
Ghosn framed the shareholder chatter as a protest against stalled turnaround plans. He pointed to an 80% drop in Nissan's stock price since his departure and a decline in annual sales from more than 5 million vehicles to roughly 3 million. Plant closures and job cuts, he said, show a business that has been shrinking rather than reinventing itself.
Shareholder Frustration Boils Over
At the annual meeting, shareholders questioned CEO Ivan Espinosa about the company's direction, even as they ultimately backed the board and the proposal to reinstate Ghosn went nowhere. Espinosa's strategy is to raise profit per vehicle even if overall volumes fall—a tough sell in a market being reshaped by electric vehicles and lower-cost Chinese competitors.
Macquarie, an Australian investment bank, also flagged the practical hurdles: reinstalling Ghosn isn't realistic, and he has said anything short of a CEO role wouldn't be enough. The failed push, however, signals growing impatience among investors who have watched Nissan's fortunes fade.
What It Means for Investors
Ghosn compared Nissan's position to the pre-crisis period before Renault's 1999 rescue, but 'with less hope,' and warned it could become 'a small affiliate' of a larger company, most likely a Chinese one. The point isn't nostalgia—it's about how markets treat long, uncertain turnarounds.
When a company underperforms for years, investors often demand a higher return to fund the recovery, which raises its cost of capital. A weaker share price makes it harder to raise money or use shares in deals, and it narrows room for big bets like new platforms, batteries, or software. In capital-hungry industries like autos, that dynamic can push companies toward partnerships, mergers, or takeovers rather than a clean go-it-alone reset.
So even a failed shareholder stunt can be a signal: pressure is building for Nissan's next chapter to be defined by a larger tie-up, not just an internal turnaround under Espinosa. For everyday investors, the key takeaway is that Nissan's struggles are not just about one executive—they reflect deeper challenges in a rapidly changing industry. The company's ability to adapt will determine whether it can regain its footing or become a takeover target.
For more on Nissan's strategic moves, see our coverage of Stellantis and Nissan Eye Marelli Assets as Supplier Restructures.
