Nissan Reports Q3 Loss Amid U.S. Tariff Strain

Nissan Motors experienced another quarter of negative profits, with U.S. import taxes increasing difficulties for the Japanese automaker amid efforts to restructure its operations and address declining sales.

Nissan's Chief Executive, Ivan Espinosa, stated on Wednesday that U.S. tariffs could result in costs amounting to as much as 300 billion yen, which equals approximately $2.02 billion, for this fiscal year—lower than the earlier estimate of up to Y450 billion. Nearly 45% of Nissan’s U.S. sales come from exports originating in Japan and Mexico.

The updated projection followed Japan and the U.S. reaching a trade agreement last week, which established a 15% tax on Japanese products, such as vehicles. The U.S. began applying a 25% charge on imported finished automobiles at the start of April.

Espinosa mentioned that although reduced tariffs lessened the effect, the company will keep working to decrease expenses and minimize its reliance on tariffs. "We appreciated the progress, but 15% remains a difficult figure," he stated.

Espinosa became the company's leader in April, shortly after Nissan abandoned plans for a merger with competitor Honda Motor.

Nissan announced it plans to cut 20,000 positions within four years ending in March 2028, with an objective of lowering worldwide manufacturing output to 2.5 million vehicles from 3.5 million, not including operations in China. To reach this target, the firm has been merging production facilities down to 10 from 17.

On Wednesday, it announced that it intends to stop manufacturing at its Civac facility in Morelos, Mexico, by the conclusion of March 2026, with all car production within the nation being centralized at its Aguascalientes site.

Nissan announced earlier this month that it will cease car production at its Oppama facility in Yokosuka, Japan, by the end of March 2028.

The company recorded a net loss of 115.76 billion yen, which equals 779.7 million dollars, for the quarter ending in June. This represented a decrease from a net gain of 28.56 billion yen during the same time last year and was less severe than what analysts had predicted—a projected loss of 139.3 billion yen according to a survey conducted by data firm Visible Alpha.

During the initial quarter of 2025, the car manufacturer disclosed a net loss exceeding $4.5 billion due to costs associated with company-wide changes and reductions in the assessed worth of manufacturing facilities across North America, Latin America, Europe, and Japan.

Revenue in the first quarter fell by 9.7% to ¥2.707 trillion, with operational performance suffering a ¥68.7 billion impact from tariffs, leading Nissan to forecast an operating loss of ¥180 billion for the first half of the year.

Contact Kosaku Narioka at kosaku.narioka@wsj.com