Heavy losses, falling sales and a failed merger with Honda. Can Nissan be saved?

That's the question facing the firm's new CEO, 46-year-old Mexican Ivan Espinosa. JAMES ATTWOOD asks him about his turnaround plan

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New Nissan CEO Ivan Espinosa has fine taste in company cars: he drives a Z to the office every morning. No wonder his predecessor, Makoto Uchida, described him as a "real car guy".

But it’s going to take more than a fine choice of company car and a passion for product to turn Nissan around: the company is facing huge challenges on multiple fronts. “I have a bunch of things to take care of, so there are about a zillion emails in my inbox,” laughs Espinosa. He notes that some CEOs face one or two crises in their career but admits “I’m going to have to deal with four or five at the same time” as he begins the process of “deep transformational work”.

The Mexican’s ascent to Nissan's top job came suddenly. Having risen steadily through the company since 2003, he had reached the level of chief planning officer under Uchida. With Nissan's problems growing and a lack of confidence from the board, Uchida was ousted and Espinosa tabbed as his replacement. It was certainly a surprise given that, aged 46, Espinosa is unusually young to be named CEO of a Japanese company, where experience and seniority are still valued.

So sudden was the appointment that it occurred shortly after invites had gone out to a select handful of international media, including Autocar, to visit Nissan’s headquarters in Yokohama, Japan. I signed up expecting to meet the firm’s planning officer, only to find it upgraded to a chat with the incoming CEO. That's unusual, to say the least.

So what is lurking in Espinosa’s bulging inbox? For starters, there are the financial issues: Nissan is expected to post losses of around £387 million this year, after a dramatic fall in first-half profits. Sales in China have plummeted and its fortunes have waned in the US, due to an ageing line-up. In Europe, the uncertain pace of electrification has disrupted its plans, while Nissan’s broad global spread means it needs a particularly wide range of powertrains.