How Carlos Ghosn Saved Nissan
By: James Sawers
Nissan Motor Corporation was once ton the verge of bankruptcy. The legendary Japanese company almost closed. That is until they hired a great executive in Carlos Ghosn to lead the company to a comeback. He had the experience, the know-how, and the ability to do so.
Carlos Ghosn is a ruthless, direct management style executive. He knows what he wants and how he wants the job done. He is a micromanager that approves every single aspect of cars being released. He is famous for being direct with designers and staff members, he is not afraid to voice his opinion to the press, and doesn’t shy from interviews.
Nissan needed an executive that could run a company with the product in mind along with the bottom line. They needed a leader that they could rally behind, had the guts to do the unthinkable, and be able to end a product that will not be successful. Carlos Ghosn was the executive the board called.
Carlos Ghosn knew that he needed to tap into the heritage of Nissan. He knew it was time to find a true identity for the company and build upon it. Nissan was going to be a mainstream sports car. The first project was designing and building the legendary Z-Roadster. In 200, Nissan executives began working on the new 350Z, set to debut in showrooms in 2002. Ghosn knew what he wanted with this car: style, speed, and sex appeal. The designers succeeded fully and the all-new 350Z was a hit amongst the buying public.
Next was a well-known Nissan: the Maxima. The Nissan Maxima had always been a solid selling, well built car. The Maxima was a front wheel drive car that had been lost in the design spectrum of the industry. Ghosn wasn’t impressed and told designers to redesign the Maxima to his liking: Big, Bold, and Beautiful. In 2003 the redesigned Maxima hit showrooms as a big and bold design. Dealers were excited and the buying public was back. The Maxima became a hot seller and became the number two best-selling vehicle in their lineup.
Number one was a product that Ghosn knew had to be sexy, appealing, sporty, safe, quality, and competitive. That car was the Nissan Altima.
The Nissan Altima competes in the family sedan class against the likes of the Toyota Camry, Honda Accord, Hyundai Sonata, and Ford Fusion. Ghosn knew the car had to appeal to be a success. Designers had to succeed and met Ghosn’s standards. He was there every step of the way with the Altima, as with all products. Once he gave his approval, the car moved fast to production. Ghosn is known not to waste time, once he makes a decision the move to production is fast. Once in production the build standards had better be up to his standards or he will take serious action.
After reinventing the top cars in the lineup through 2002-2004, Ghosn knew there was more work to be done. He took a serious look at Infiniti and did the unthinkable in the industry; he aimed his target at BMW. He knew Infiniti needed customers, they needed to have a heritage, and they had to find their identity fast.
That leads to the 2003 Infiniti G35 Sedan/Coupe. The car came up short to the competition from Munich, however was too close for comfort for BMW. In 2008, the second generation G35 (now the G37) defeated the BMW 3 Series in a head to head comparison in THREE major publications. Ghosn had done the unthinkable; he had beat BMW.
In 2008, Ghosn unveiled the long anticipated Nissan GT-R. The buying public and industry had been waiting and the executives weren’t sure if they should go ahead with the project. They did, and won Car of the Year honors from Motor Trend and Automobile Magazine.
Today, Nissan continues to make money, sell cars, and is very far from where they were pre-Ghosn. Nissan may not be popular amongst everyone in the industry, however they are a hit with young people, professionals, and families. Nissan has a market niche they have succeeded in revitalizing, and a complete company in a very hard industry.
From Nissan to Infiniti, Nissan Motor Corporation has made a comeback, all with Carlos Ghosn at the help. A gutsy, ruthless, direct, and driven executive with a love of the product and bottom line continues to lead Nissan into being a serious competitor in the global industry.
Nissan Motor Corporation continues to invest in the United States as well. They have developed into one of the leading “Green” companies with their business practices and headquarters.
Detroit, are you listening? There is a valuable lesson to be learned from Carlos Ghosn, President & CEO of Nissan Motor Corporation.
