Nissan: Qashqai maker in the red despite sales accelerating by over £2bn
The UK arm of Japanese carmaking giant Nissan fell into the red despite its sales surging by more than £2bn, it has been revealed.
Based out of its Sunderland factory, Nissan’s UK arm has reported a pre-tax loss of £67.2m for the 12 months to 31 March, 2024, new accounts filed with Companies House show.
That figure comes after the firm reported a pre-tax profit of £31.9m in the prior 12 months.
Nissan said the pre-tax loss was “primarily due to actual gains and losses and provisions for suppler claims”.
The accounts also show that its turnover jumped from £5bn to £7.3bn over the same period.
The number of vehicles Nissan manufactured in the UK during the 12 months increased from 260,000, 325,000 – an increase which was largely due to the “continued easing of disruption caused by worldwide semiconductor shortages”.
The Qashqai continued to be Nissan’s most popular model, with 199,000 cars being produced, up from 168,000.
Juke production volumes rose from 62,000 to 103,000 while Leaf production volumes fell from 30,000 to 23,000 as its production neared its end.
During the year the average number of people employed by the business rose from 6,523 to 6,966.
Nissan’s UK accounts had been due to be filed with Companies House by the end of 2024 but were published more than three months late.
In separate accounts for the company that distributes and markets Nissan vehicles and spare parts in the UK, turnover increased from £2bn to £2.3bn while its pre-tax profit jumped from £12.7m to £25.2m.
Nissan braced for Trump’s tariffs
The results have been published after President Trump announced that he will impose a universal 25 per cent tariff on all car imports into the US.
That move came just hours after the Office for Budget Responsibility warned that fresh tariffs would erase Reeves’ new-found fiscal headroom.
The US imported more than 8m cars in 2024 – representing around £186bn in trade.
In 2023, 18.4 per cent of UK automotive exports went to the US, accounting for £6.4bn.
Shares in the top Japanese automakers – Toyota, Honda and Nissan – all dipped as Tokyo markets opened on Thursday.
Electric vehicle lobbying
Last month, the government indicated that it plans to relax electric vehicle sales quotas after Nissan claimed they threatened the future of its Sunderland manufacturing plant.
The so-called ZEV (zero-emission-vehicle) mandate forces car manufacturers to hit steadily increasing annual sales targets for electric cars or face fines. The policy had initially targeted 80 per cent of sales each year to be electric by 2030.
Carmakers including Jaguar Land Rover, Nissan and Stellantis have been lobbying fiercely for the government to water down the ZEV mandate.
Business secretary Jonathan Reynolds has not given exact details of the changes that will be made to the ZEV mandate but he told Nissan boss Makoto Uchida: “Nothing is off the table.”
Mega merger plans collapse
The latest results also come after Japanese carmakers Honda, Nissan and Mitsubishi said they were dropping their talks to integrate their businesses.
They agreed to end their consideration of how to build a structure for the three brands to collaborate, their joint statement said.
Honda Motor Co and Nissan Motor Corp announced in December 2024 they would hold talks to set up a joint holding company.
Mitsubishi Motors Corp then said it was considering joining that group.