Nissan has picked current chief planning officer Ivan Espinosa as its new CEO, succeeding Makoto Uchida.

Ivan Espinosa replaces Nissan CEO Makoto Uchida on 1 April

The appointment, effective 1 April, follows the collapse of merger talks with Honda last month and weeks of speculation over who would replace Uchida.

Espinosa, a Mexican citizen who joined Nissan in 2003, is now tasked with reviving fortunes at the struggling car brand, which has been hit by years of faltering sales along with turmoil over former chairman Carlos Ghosn, who was arrested in late 2018 on charges of fraud and misuse of company assets.

In February, Nissan reported a 78% fall in third-quarter operating profit and cut its full-year outlook for the third time.

As with all carmakers, Nissan has been hit by the rise of the Chinese car brands but is also grappling with other upheavals, including potential tariffs on vehicle imports into the US from its Mexican plant.

The Japanese car firm has also been seeking new partners, including potentially Taiwanese electronics giant Foxconn, after the deal with Honda collapsed. The tie-up would have created the third-largest global carmaker in sales volumes after Toyota and Volkswagen, helping the firms fight off rising threats and furthering their work on electric and autonomous vehicles through a joint holding company.

But talks broke down after disagreements on a change of plan by Honda to make Nissan a subsidiary, and Nissan has turned to global workforce and production reductions.

Honda reportedly said last month it would be willing to reopen talks if there was a change at the top at Nissan.

In a short press conference held today following his appointment, Ivan Espinosa was asked about the possibility of reigniting merger talks with Honda and about turnaround plans, but said he needed “need some time to reflect” on issues.

Nissan has also announced other changes to its senior management with a significantly renewed leadership line-up “to achieve the company’s short- and mid-term objectives while positioning it for long-term growth”.

Guillaume Cartier, chief performance officer and chairperson of the Management Committee for AMIEO, will have an expanded role that includes global marketing and customer experience.

Eiichi Akashi, currently corporate vice president (CVP) of the Vehicle Planning and Vehicle Component Engineering Division, will become chief technology officer and executive officer, succeeding Kunio Nakaguro.

Teiji Hirata, currently CVP of Vehicle Production Engineering and Development Division, will take on the role of chief monozukuri officer and executive officer, responsible for Manufacturing and Supply Chain Management, succeeding Hideyuki Sakamoto.

Jeremy Papin, chief financial officer, is also appointed executive officer.

In addition to Nakaguro, Sakamoto and Uchida departing, Asako Hoshino, chief brand & customer officer, and Hideaki Watanabe, chief strategy & corporate affairs officer, will step down from their current roles on 31 March.