Nissan is locked in a “survival game” in China, its chief executive has said, as the Japanese carmaker tries to overhaul its strategy in the face of collapsing sales in the world’s largest car market. Makoto Uchida told the Financial Times’s Future of the Car Summit that Nissan would launch five new electric or hybrid vehicles in China within the next two years, adding that it would deepen partnerships with local players to help speed up its vehicle development in the country.
“We are committed to staying in China, but how to stay in China has drastically changed,” Uchida said on Tuesday. “It is more of a survival game.”
International carmakers that were once dominant in China’s market have seen sales eroded by new local competitors that produce cheaper electric models that are often more technologically advanced.