When Carlos Ghosn, the man who has successfully turned around Nissan and is now trying to do the same with Renault, is discussing the auto industry, then you can be sure he knows what he’s talking about.
During an interview with Bloomberg News on the sidelines of the 2012 North American Auto Show, Ghosn said that 2011 was a record year for most manufacturers, and it would have been even better had the tsunami not crippled most carmaker’s production for many months.
Ghosn added that Nissan’s decision to move more of its production overseas had nothing to do with fears of another natural catastrophe. Instead, he cited the “abnormal uncompetitive strength of the yen” as the main reason for doing so, which as he said hit Nissan even harder than the tsunami.
On Nissan’s decision to start manufacturing engines for Mercedes-Benz at its U.S. plant in Tennessee, Ghosn said that this is not only a “win-win” situation, but also the next step in the partnership with Daimler after their joint development of a platform and exchanging engines in Europe.
You can watch the interview on Bloomberg News here.
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