Nissan looks to get leaner, may axe Datsun brand, report says

YOKOHAMA, Japan -- Nissan is likely to terminate its Datsun brand, drop some unprofitable products and close a number of assembly lines worldwide as it seeks to boost profits by getting smaller, two company sources with direct knowledge of the matter said.

Known internally as the "performance recovery plan," the proposed steps mark a sharp break with Nissan's strategy under ousted leader Carlos Ghosn, who pursued ambitious vehicle sales targets in the U.S. and other major markets.

The plan is the automaker's latest attempt to pull itself out of crisis after Ghosn was arrested for financial misconduct - charges he denies.

The scandal has further strained an already dysfunctional alliance with Renault and thrown Nissan into disarray as it finds itself on course to book its lowest operating profit in 11 years.

The sources said Nissan will likely kill loss-making variants for the Titan large pickup, a move reported by Automotive News last month. Unprofitable variants include the single-cab and diesel versions.

A planned shuttering of under-utilized production lines will most probably hit plants in emerging markets building Datsun and other small cars hardest, they added.

"We need to chart a recovery but the rot goes deep," one of the sources said of the many problems facing Nissan.

The second source said all markets with factories except China were being looked at for possible reductions in production capacity. That source also said, however, that there were no plans to close an entire plant or withdraw completely from any country.

In the United States, one of Nissan's biggest markets, the plan calls for fresh efforts to weed out the practice of buying market share by selling vehicles to rental car and other fleet operators at heavy discounts - a practice which destroyed profitability and undermined Nissan's brand image.

Automotive News last month reported on Nissan's strategy in the U.S. to boost profits for its retailers and increase consumer consideration of the brand.

"We're trying to clean up what had happened in the past," one of the sources said, adding that under Ghosn, Nissan sought to meet sales objectives at any cost, including "practically giving away cars" to fleet customers.

A team led by Jun Seki, a senior vice president and incoming vice chief operating officer, is expected to unveil the wide-ranging plan this month though some aspects are still being finalized, said the sources, who were not authorized to speak to media and declined to be identified.

Nissan declined to comment.

Seki is part of a new management team that will see Makoto Uchida, Nissan's head of China operations, take the helm - an appointment that is expected to take effect by Jan. 1.

The new steps follow plans unveiled in July to cut headcount by 12,500 globally by early 2023 and which also flagged cuts to production capacity. At the time, then-CEO Hiroto Saikawa said 14 facilities would be affected. market.

Overall, the plan's aim is to free up resources to focus more on the United States and China, the sources said.