| Thanks for reading Hyperdrive, Bloomberg's newsletter on the future of the auto world. Read today's featured story in full online here. Nissan's struggle to cope with tougher car industry conditions and address weaknesses within its business has spiraled, leaving the automaker with no choice but to slash payroll, production and its forecasts for this fiscal year. The Japanese company will dismiss 9,000 workers globally and reduce capacity by a fifth, among other cost-cutting measures, after net income plummeted 94% in the first half. Nissan also will sell off some of its stake in Mitsubishi Motors after burning through ¥448.3 billion ($2.9 billion) in cash during the last six months. The calamitous results will prove costly for Chief Executive Officer Makoto Uchida, who's forfeiting half his compensation starting this month. The CEO told investors Nissan has been affected "not only by external challenges, but also by our specific issues," alluding both to the breakneck rise of Chinese automakers and Nissan setting overly ambitious sales targets. "Meeting our sales goals will be a challenge," Uchida said. "We need to rebuild our strength so that we can pivot toward a more positive direction." Nissan now sees its operating income plunging to just ¥150 billion in the fiscal year ending in March, down 70% from its previous forecast. Management also lowered their revenue outlook by more than 9%, meaning they now expect virtually no growth for the year. Uchida has been at the helm since 2019, when Nissan was facing an existential crisis in the wake of former chairman Carlos Ghosn's departure. He's had trouble righting the ship while facing stiff competition from the likes of Tesla and China's BYD, rendering the company a laggard among major Japanese automakers. "Nissan is the weakest one," said James Hong, an analyst at Macquarie Securities Korea. "The only way for the company to improve sales is through price cuts." Nissan will sell almost a third of its shareholding in partner Mitsubishi Motors, paring its current stake of just over 34%. The roughly 10% holding that Nissan will offer up through the Tokyo Stock Exchange was worth about ¥68.6 billion at the close of trading Thursday.  Nissan CEO Makoto Uchida at an August news conference in Tokyo. Photographer: Kiyoshi Ota/Bloomberg Nissan is around eight months into a three-year turnaround plan meant to reinvigorate the business, though it was already backtracking earlier this year. In July, the company cut its annual operating profit outlook to ¥500 billion from ¥600 billion, due to poor sales in China, Japan and North America. Profit for the quarter that ended September was ¥32 billion, falling short of consensus estimates for ¥65 billion and further still from the ¥208 billion earned a year ago. "The decline in second quarter profit wasn't a surprise, but the figure itself was even lower than expected," said Bloomberg Intelligence analyst Tatsuo Yoshida. "The main problem is the gap between what the company wanted to achieve, and what was realistically possible." The plans Uchida has laid out include expanding Nissan's lineup of electric vehicles, forging new partnerships and selling an additional 1 million cars a year by 2027. But analysts have said the company's new lineup lacks excitement and enough hybrid models — a problem when consumer demand for EVs is waning. "The demand for hybrids is what's allowing Toyota and Honda to enjoy strong profitability," Macquarie's Hong said. "That strategy also needs to be revisited." — By Nicholas Takahashi  Volkswagen's factory in Zwickau, Germany, in September. Photographer: Iona Dutz/Bloomberg Looming large in the hours between Donald Trump's election victory and the late-night collapse of Germany's government is a crisis of competitiveness in Europe's largest economy. Companies including chemicals giant BASF and auto supplier ZF Friedrichshafen have shifted resources outside their homeland, leading to a net capital outflow of more than €650 billion ($700 billion) since 2010, according to figures from the Bundesbank. Trump's win threatens to accelerate that drain by putting further pressure on German firms to invest more in the US to avoid potential tariffs. With options running thin and scheduled elections less than a year away, Scholz fired Finance Minister Christian Lindner in a dispute over reviving growth, putting Germany on track for its first snap ballot since 2005. | 
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