Too Much Junk in the Trunk: S&P Downgrades Nissan's Credit Rating
Often the butt of jokes concerning the types of people that drive its cars, Nissan can’t catch a break. Its long-awaited new EV, the Ariya, was long delayed because of supply chain issues and a global pandemic. Now we’re learning that the automaker’s credit rating recently took a hit.
S&P Global Ratings, the organization responsible for providing credit ratings on some of the world’s largest corporations, has downgraded Nissan’s credit rating to junk. S&P said the automaker’s lack of innovation and few new products in its pipeline would likely keep its profitability behind its rivals for the foreseeable future.
Nissan will have to pay more to sell foreign currency bonds, and the hit to its credit rating certainly hurts its global reputation, but S&P is not betting on Nissan’s downfall. The organization said the automaker’s outlook is stable and noted that its profitability is slowly returning.
From here, Nissan has two paths ahead of it. If profitability continues improving and sales grow, S&P may upgrade its rating over the next year or so. However, if profitability continues to struggle and cash flow runs dry, Nissan’s credit rating could take another hit, further impacting its standing on the global stage.
[Image: JuliusKielaitis via Shutterstock]
Become a TTAC insider. Get the latest news, features, TTAC takes, and everything else that gets to the truth about cars first by subscribing to our newsletter.
Chris grew up in, under, and around cars, but took the long way around to becoming an automotive writer. After a career in technology consulting and a trip through business school, Chris began writing about the automotive industry as a way to reconnect with his passion and get behind the wheel of a new car every week. He focuses on taking complex industry stories and making them digestible by any reader. Just don’t expect him to stay away from high-mileage Porsches.
More by Chris Teague
Comments
Join the conversation
Three words sell Nissans: "Attractive Financing Offers".
No Problem. Sell one assembly plant to Tesla. Sell a second to Hyundai. Discontinue all nonprofitable models. Then repeat this process every 5 years.
I have owned 3 Nissans and my first one was a 2011 and I got 383000 thousand miles on it and it never used any oil.
This is because they aren't bringing the nrw Juke to the States.