Nissan's core car business is losing money as tariffs and China crush output
Core auto business is losing money; finance arm is the only thing keeping profit positive Nissan's actual car-making business lost ¥292.8 billion last fiscal year, and only its car-loan/finance arm (¥297.9 billion profit) kept the company in the black. This is the second straight year of the same pattern, so investors see the car business itself as broken, not just having a bad year.
This is the single clearest new fact showing why Nissan's profit is weak and the stock is under pressure.
Nissan's global production plunged 19.5% in August, worst of the big automakers Nissan's worldwide factory output fell 19.5% in August, far worse than Toyota's 5.9% drop, with China especially weak. Falling production means fewer cars to sell and less revenue, and it confirms Nissan is losing ground faster than rivals in a shrinking market.
It shows the scale of Nissan's output collapse versus peers, a direct driver of weak sales and profit.
US tariffs hit Nissan's Mexico exports hard Mexico's auto exports fell 12% in September, the biggest drop this year, and Nissan was among the hardest hit. Mexican-built cars still face a 25% US tariff, so Nissan's Mexico plants — a key source of US-bound vehicles — are becoming a cost and volume problem.
Tariffs on Mexico directly raise Nissan's costs and cut its US sales volumes, a core profit driver.
EU plan would lock Nissan EVs out of European subsidies A draft EU law would require electric cars to have 70% EU-made parts and be assembled in Europe to get subsidies. Nissan builds EVs in the UK, not the EU, so its European EV sales could lose price support and become less competitive against local brands.
It is a new regulatory threat to Nissan's European EV business, adding to its regional headwinds.