Nissan has found its next CEO. The automaker announced Ivan Espinosa as its next chief executive, replacing outgoing CEO Makoto Uchida after five years leading the company. The 46-year-old will take the reins at Nissan on April 1.
Espinosa has worked at Nissan for over 20 years and joined the company the same year as Uchida. He’s viewed as a talented product guy with a broad view of the automaker’s international operations. Uchida’s time ended with some employees losing confidence and Nissan’s future uncertain.
Nissan’s credit rating has fallen into junk status, and its recent merger talks with Honda fell apart earlier this year. The automaker also faces a major debt issue in 2026 and has seen sales slide, giving Espinosa a significant challenge when he takes office next month.
Despite those issues, there is some hope for Nissan. Its talks with Honda broke up after Nissan execs balked at the automaker becoming a subsidiary of Honda rather than an equal partner, but that could change. Honda said it would be open to restarting the talks if Nissan hired a new CEO, leaving the door open to future negotiations.
Uchida had some success after Carlos Ghosn left Nissan, reversing its slide in profitability for a period last year, but times have been tough since. His turnaround plans aimed to boost sales, but the automaker lost money instead, forcing Nissan into cost-cutting mode with layoffs and production cuts.
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