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Nissan is in a “survival game” in China, its chief executive said, as the Japanese automaker tries to overhaul its strategy amid slumping sales in the world’s biggest car market.
Makoto Uchida told the Financial Times’ Future of the Car Summit that Nissan will launch five new electric or hybrid vehicles in China within the next two years, adding that the company is deepening partnerships with local players to accelerate vehicle development in the country.
“We are committed to staying in China, but the way of staying in China has changed drastically,” Uchida said Tuesday. “It’s more of a survival game.”
International automakers that once dominated the Chinese market have seen sales hit by new local competitors making cheaper electric models that are often more technologically advanced.
At the Beijing Auto Show last month, Nissan announced a new partnership with Chinese search and mapping group Baidu in artificial intelligence technology and promised to produce more cars in the country.
Through new partners and manufacturing technology, Nissan aims to reduce the cost of electric vehicles by 30 percent by 2030.
Separately, Hyundai’s European boss Michael Cole told the FT conference that the South Korean carmaker needed to “step up our game” to compete with a wave of cheap Chinese electric cars coming to Europe. “The reality is that the Chinese are able to bring vehicles to market at very, very competitive prices,” he said.
Chinese company BYD has already confirmed that it plans to bring a version of the Seagull – which sells in China for less than $10,000 – to Europe.
Uchida warned on Tuesday that Chinese automakers were “coming strong,” adding: “Their speed is enormous – the challenge is how we can maintain our speed to compete with them.”
He said Nissan plans to export more cars from China, possibly to Europe, through its partnership with local group Dongfeng, as the Japanese carmaker rushes to address “excess capacity” built up in China.
Japanese automakers’ share of the Chinese car market fell 2.2 percentage points year-on-year to 13.8 percent in March, data from the China Passenger Car Association showed. This compares to a peak of 24.1 percent market share in 2020.
Volkswagen, which previously accounted for almost one in five cars sold in China, saw its electric vehicle market share fall to below 5 percent.
Additional reporting by Gloria Li in Hong Kong