Nissan Motor Co., Ltd.

Toyota's global sales, including Lexus, declined 7.5% year over year to 832,618 vehicles in August, the seventh straight monthly decline, with China the main drag as sales there dropped 22.8% to 118,449 units. Global production fell 5.9% to 700,860 vehicles, and output in China slid 11.3%, while Toyota's close peers Honda and Nissan reported far steeper China production declines of 71.7% to 14,130 units and 73.3%, respectively. Toyota's sales rose 9.1% to 105,067 units in Japan and 2.6% to 78,527 vehicles in Europe, but fell 4.4% to 215,556 units in the United States and 37.5% in the Middle East. The company expects fiscal-year revenues to rise to ¥54 trillion from ¥50.68 trillion while operating income falls 9.7% to ¥3.4 trillion, and it has authorized buybacks of up to ¥1 trillion, plans to cancel 200 million treasury shares and lifted its dividend outlook to ¥100 per share. Toyota carries a Zacks Rank #3 (Hold), with the Zacks Consensus Estimate calling for fiscal 2027 and 2028 EPS to rise 3.8% and 15%, respectively.

Segment information for Nissan Motor's fiscal year ending March 2026 reveals that while the automobile business posted an operating loss of 292.8 billion yen, the sales finance business earned an operating profit of 297.9 billion yen. The automobile business's revenue was 10.7602 trillion yen, accounting for nearly 90% of consolidated revenue, but its operating margin was a negative 2.7%. In contrast, the sales finance business, with revenue of 1.2475 trillion yen, reached an operating margin of 23.9%, far exceeding the median of 5.3% for the transportation equipment industry. Consolidated operating profit of 58 billion yen is merely the result of combining the automobile business's loss, sales finance's profit, and 52.9 billion yen in inter-segment adjustments. In the fiscal year ending March 2025 as well, the automobile business posted an operating loss of 267.9 billion yen while the sales finance business generated an operating profit of 285.6 billion yen, meaning the pattern of finance filling in for the loss has continued for two consecutive fiscal years. At the end of the fiscal year ending March 2026, the sales finance business's segment assets stood at 10.7268 trillion yen, surpassing the automobile business's 10.0251 trillion yen and reversing the previous fiscal year's position. The company expects operating profit to recover to 200 billion yen in the fiscal year ending March 2027, but its share price has fallen nearly 15%, from the 350 yen range at the end of October 2025 to the low 300 yen range as of September 2026.

The European Union is debating a draft of the Industrial Accelerator Act, pending legislation that would give preferential treatment to products made in the EU. Under the draft, electric vehicles would need 70% of their contents made in the EU and would have to be assembled in the region to qualify for subsidies and tax incentives. The legislation is awaiting a European Parliament committee decision, with a September 30 deadline for lawmakers to submit amendments and a committee vote scheduled for December 1. The measure could be a headwind for Japanese automakers looking to sell in Europe, including Toyota Motor, Honda Motor, and Nissan, as well as Chinese EV makers such as Nio, BYD Company, and XPeng.

Global production by eight major automakers in August came to 1,742,545 units, down 4.1% from the same month a year earlier, the companies announced on the 29th. Output fell amid sluggish demand in China and Asia, and the Kumamoto earthquake in late July also weighed on results, halting domestic production at some operations. Nissan Motor's global production dropped 19.5%, with a particularly sharp decline in China, while Toyota Motor also posted a 5.9% decrease. Honda, which idled some plants after the Kumamoto earthquake damaged suppliers and disrupted logistics, saw a 12.6% decline, and Daihatsu Motor fell 10.9%, hit both by plant shutdowns and by the rebound from strong new-model sales a year earlier. Suzuki, meanwhile, continued to perform well in India and posted a 22.1% increase.

Tesla has reclaimed more than half of the U.S. electric-vehicle market, capturing 52% of U.S. EV sales through August, up from 43% a year earlier, according to The Wall Street Journal, citing data from Motor Intelligence. The gain reflects Tesla's relative resilience rather than a return to growth: its domestic sales fell 16% to 325,351 vehicles while the overall EV market contracted 30%. Tesla's market share had fallen to a record-low 41% in 2025 as competitors introduced more electric models and Chief Executive Elon Musk's political activities alienated some buyers, and its recovery has coincided with Ford, General Motors and other automakers reducing production or discontinuing EVs after federal incentives expired. The Honda Prologue, Volkswagen ID.4 and Ford F-150 Lightning are among the models being eliminated or phased out, while GM reduced production plans for the revived Chevrolet Bolt and Nissan delayed the least-expensive version of its new Leaf. The Model Y remains Tesla's main defense against the downturn, with sales declining only 2% this year and the SUV accounting for roughly one-third of all U.S. EV purchases, while Model 3 sales dropped 34% and Tesla sold only 9,769 Cybertrucks. Analysts expect Tesla to retain its dominant U.S. position while established automakers remain cautious about EV investment.

Sales figures for August from Japan's three major automakers in China were all released by the 9th, with Toyota Motor, Nissan Motor, and Honda all recording double-digit declines. As Chinese electric vehicle (EV) makers intensify price competition and demand shifts toward increasingly affordable EVs, sales of the gasoline-powered vehicles that Japanese automakers focus on continue to struggle. Toyota sold 118,400 vehicles, down 22.8% year on year, marking the seventh consecutive month of decline. Nissan's sales fell 51.9% to 28,275 units, and Honda's dropped 49.9% to 26,749 units, with both nearly halving. Nissan has now seen year-on-year declines for five consecutive months, while Honda has for 31 consecutive months.

Mexico's automotive industry reported mixed results for August, with light-vehicle production declining 1.4% year over year to 344,940 units while exports increased 1.3% to 300,475 vehicles, according to INEGI data. The U.S. remains the dominant market, absorbing 76.3% of Mexico's vehicle exports in the first eight months of 2026, totaling 1.72 million units. General Motors led both production and exports in August, manufacturing 79,230 vehicles and shipping 74,842 units, while Nissan's production plunged 26% and Ford's exports tumbled 41.3%. Year-to-date production is nearly flat at 2.65 million vehicles, down 0.7%, with GM leading output at 600,912 units and Nissan experiencing a 25.1% decline. The data underscores the automotive sector's heavy reliance on U.S. demand and its sensitivity to trade policy changes.

Nissan Motor Company reported a 16.5% drop in global sales to 219,495 vehicles in July 2026, including models sold under the Nissan and Infiniti brands, with sales in Japan rising by 3.6% to 35,872 units, while overseas sales fell by almost 20% to 183,623 units. In the first seven months of the year, global sales fell by 8% to 1,725,547 units, with Japan declining slightly to 253,107 units and overseas sales down 9.2% to 1,621,494 units. China sales dropped over 22% to 261,135 units year-to-date, while North America declined just 1.3% to 776,390 units, supported by a slight US increase to 565,735 units. Global production fell 9.5% to 1,508,828 units in the period, excluding vehicles from the former joint venture Renault Nissan Automotive India, with US output surging 25% to 342,299 units and Mexico plunging 25% to 292,068 units as the company shifted production to the US in response to Trump administration trade policies. Exports from Japan rose almost 7% to 200,610 units year-to-date.

The eight major automakers reported on the 28th that their combined overseas sales in July totaled 1.635 million units, down 2.8% from the same month last year, as shrinking demand for gasoline vehicles in China took a toll. Domestic sales were strong thanks to new models, but global sales overall fell 1.0% to 2.021 million units. Toyota Motor's overseas sales dropped 7.6% to 706,028 units, with a decline of more than 20% in China. Nissan Motor also saw a 19.5% decrease due to weak China sales, while Mazda and Mitsubishi Motors also posted declines. On the other hand, Suzuki benefited from the launch of new models in India, with overseas sales surging 32.9% to 262,906 units, a record high for a single month.

Nissan has canceled its plan to establish Nissan Bank U.S. in Salt Lake City, citing cost reductions and long-term financial health, according to Automotive News. The automaker's finance arm, Nissan Motor Acceptance Co., had filed with the FDIC and Utah regulators in June 2025 for an industrial loan company charter that would have allowed it to fund dealer loans with federally insured deposits. The decision leaves Ford, General Motors, and Stellantis as the major automakers moving forward with industrial bank charters, with Ford Credit Bank and GM Financial Bank receiving conditional FDIC approval in January 2026 and Stellantis Bank USA clearing regulators in May 2026. Nissan, whose credit rating was cut to BB- by S&P Global Ratings in November, is mid-way through its Re:Nissan restructuring targeting 20,000 job cuts and a reduction from 17 assembly plants to 10, and posted a net loss of 533.1 billion yen in the fiscal year ended March. The company reported a first-quarter operating profit of 77.9 billion yen and net income of 3.8 billion yen, but CEO Ivan Espinosa said the environment remains challenging, particularly in China and the Middle East.

Automakers including Stellantis and Volkswagen are turning to new lubricant blends as motor oil shortages worsen due to the Iran war, the Financial Times reported. Supply chains for high-quality Group III base oils were severely disrupted after Iran struck Shell's gas-to-liquids plant in Qatar in March, and prices have nearly tripled from prewar levels to about $4,000 per ton in Europe and the U.S. Stellantis said it evaluated reformulated lubricants and secured alternative products that meet industry standards, while Volkswagen said it has secured supplies for now and is evaluating additional sourcing options. Toyota and Suzuki have also secured alternative supplies, and Nissan informed dealers of reduced production capacity for most lubricant products and said it would constrain supplies of its high-quality motor oil. Holly Alfano, CEO of the Independent Lubricant Manufacturers Association, warned that alternative suppliers have limited volumes and any renewed shipping disruption, refinery outage or other supply shock could rapidly worsen the situation.

Toyota, Honda and Nissan are facing risks from the impact of the Iran conflict and a stronger yen, after having benefited from the currency's weakness in the latest quarter. Toyota and Honda raised their full-year earnings forecasts, while Nissan posted its first profit in about two years. But the intervention by the US and Japanese finance ministries through yen buying in early August, a historic move after the yen tumbled to a 40-year low beyond 163 per dollar, has sent a warning signal. Analysts at Morningstar said a stronger yen will force automakers to choose between raising prices in overseas markets, which could lead to lost market share, or allowing operating profit to be squeezed by the reduced value of overseas earnings when converted back into yen. A 1% move in the yen affects Japanese automakers' operating profit by about 2%, and could reach about 4% for some companies. Meanwhile, the ongoing conflict in the Middle East could cause supply chain disruptions and higher costs, because the Strait of Hormuz and the Red Sea are key shipping routes for imports of aluminium and petrochemicals such as naphtha. The most significant negative pressure is a surge in raw material costs that intensifies amid the conflict.

California's new MyFirstEV instant rebate program exempts automakers headquartered in the state that build only zero-emission vehicles from its $50,000 MSRP cap, effectively allowing Tesla and Lucid to qualify for the $3,500 incentive on vehicles priced well above that limit while competitors must comply. The program, announced by Governor Gavin Newsom on August 7, offers $3,500 off a new zero-emission vehicle and $1,750 off a used one at the point of sale, funded by $135.5 million from California Climate Investments' cap-and-trade revenue matched by participating automakers for a total $271 million pot. CARB's own FAQ states the program was created because the expiration of the $7,500 federal EV tax credit in September 2025 caused new ZEV registrations in California to drop 40.2% year over year in the first quarter of 2026. The price-cap exemption applies to any manufacturer headquartered in California that builds only zero-emission vehicles, which currently includes Tesla and Lucid and will include Rivian once it joins, while Hyundai, Kia, and others must stay under the $50,000 threshold. The rollout is staggered because CARB signs individual grant agreements with each automaker, who must front the discount and build point-of-sale systems, with Tesla, Hyundai, and Lucid going live first and Nissan and Volvo yet to commit to a date.

Japanese, Western, and Chinese automakers are facing sales headwinds in China's auto market. In the first half of 2026, Honda's China sales fell 34.6 percent year on year, Toyota Motor dropped 17.1 percent, and Nissan Motor declined 15 percent, with Japanese brands posting double-digit decreases. European players Volkswagen, Mercedes, and BMW saw drops of 20 to 30 percent, while US automaker General Motors slipped 6 percent. Chinese manufacturers also saw domestic sales fall below the previous year for the first time in two years, with EV leader BYD down 16 percent and Li Auto down 5 percent. A rapid expansion of production capacity for new energy vehicles, including EVs, has led to oversupply, pushing factory utilization rates well below the 80 percent breakeven level. The strain of overproduction is spilling over into exports, with so-called zero-kilometer used cars, where new vehicles are shipped overseas as used cars, now accounting for over 90 percent of used car exports, prompting authorities to question BYD and others. NIO CEO William Li expressed a sense of crisis, saying China's auto industry has entered its most brutal phase, as the state-led push to nurture the EV industry reaches a crossroads.

A 7.1-magnitude earthquake in Japan's Kyushu region has disrupted vehicle and component production at the country's leading automakers. Toyota temporarily halted production at three plants in Kyushu and one in Aichi Prefecture, while Nissan suspended operations at its two Kyushu vehicle plants and Mitsubishi Motors halted a plant in Okayama. Major supplier Aisin Corporation also idled facilities in the region. The production suspensions could result in the loss of up to 20,000 vehicles, and electronic component manufacturing including semiconductors has also been affected.

Nissan Motor Corp. reported a net profit of 3.8 billion yen for the January-March quarter, reversing a 115.8 billion yen loss a year earlier, but warned that challenges in the Middle East and China are weighing on its outlook. Quarterly sales rose 9.5% to 2.96 trillion yen, helped by cost cuts and improved performance in the U.S. and Japan. Chief Executive Ivan Espinosa said production lines were partially stalled due to the magnitude 7.1 earthquake that struck Kumamoto, southwestern Japan, last week, with the disruption expected to last until Wednesday and affect 5,000 vehicles. The company lowered its annual sales forecast to 3.15 million vehicles, down from an earlier projection of 3.3 million units, largely because of fierce competition from Chinese electric-vehicle makers. Nissan maintained its full-year profit forecast of 20 billion yen on sales of 13 trillion yen.