NISSAN-Innovation that excites

Nissan is a Japanese multinational automobile manufacturer based out of Yokohama, Japan. Nissan started as the Kwaishinsha Motor company where they would manufacture trucks and make coach built bodies for passenger vehicles.Kwaishinsha was later renamed to Datsun which mostly produced military trucks and parts for the war efforts.They were an integral asset for the Japanese war effort as they were 1 of 7 automobile manufacturers in Japan.Post world war 1, Nissan was formed as a holdings company for the founder Yoshisuke Aikawa’s foundry and automobile parts business.Nissan then went through a long restructuring before they finally started to make passenger vehicles in 1933 called the Model 70.Till the late 60s, Nissan remained relatively small with just local presence.In 1960 under the leadership of Yutaka Katayama, they started expanding globally with presence in USA,UK,Australia and Europe.Consumers in Europe always preferred lightweight economical compact cars due to the crowded streets and the high fuel prices in Europe.In the 1970s, the oil crisis hit America and this allowed Nissan to become a major competitor in the American automobile market with a share of 23% in 1976.

Nissan currently trades at 6.80-9$ with a market cap of 15B$.They are involved in the manufacture of passenger and commercial vehicles.Passenger vehicles account for 68% of their sales and 75% of their profits.Their commercial vehicles are most prevalent in Japan and some parts of Europe.Most recently, they have been in news for their corporate alliance with Mitsubishi and Renault.This was a game changing move for three historical brands to share future research and development costs.

Nissan has a median price forecast of 10.42$ with a high estimate of 12.91$ and a low estimate of 7.38$.The median represents a 32.73% increase from the last trading price.Eight of the 19 analysts suggest a buy consensus while 9 recommend a hold strategy.The earnings per share has risen to 0.85$ in 2021 which was a sharp increase from 2020 where it was -2.20.As the world recovers from the pandemics and consumer spendings rise again, Nissan is becoming profitable again after 3 years of making constant losses.

Nissan is one of the most prominent Japanese brands throughout the world.They have a rich heritage and a history of making reliable and economical cars.This image was strengthened globally when consumers first experienced cars such as Fairlady, 411 and 240Z.Critics praised the cars for their bare bone driving experience while consumers loved the low running and maintenance costs.This allowed the Japanese brand to gain prevalence throughout the world.Till date, Nissan has a very strong customer base and there are car cultures based around the brand. Models like the Skyline and Silvia have a cult following which contributes a lot to their repeat customers.Like most Japanese brands, they have also tried to gain a share of the premium auto segment with their subsidiary Infiniti.In recent times, following the change in consumer taste Nissan made it a topmost priority to shift to crossovers.This shift was successful and this turned out to be an extremely profitable move to Nissan.Despite all these wins, they have had their fair share of losses as well.From 2001-2012, the company was a loss making entity despite having good revenues.At this juncture, the now infamous Carlos Ghosn took leadership as Nissan CEO and was able to form the Nissan-Renault-Mitsubishi Alliance making all three manufacturers profitable.With the scandalous removal of the CEO, Nissan saw itself in bad publicity again when things seemed to be getting better.They have been trying to sway away from their former and moreover also investing in the future.They have made a new Indian headquarters which will be the hub for all future electric vehicle development in Gurugram.Apart from this, they have been trying to ramp up their public image a lot since the merger and also create a unique brand image when they have to share designs with their partner companies Mitsubishi and Renault.All said and done, Nissan is a company that is here to stay with good short term and long term scalability.