Escaped from custody the former head of Nissan Carlos Ghosn said in interview BBC that the future of the Japanese auto giant under the big question. Another big question is the future of the British plant of Nissan in Sunderland, which depends on the ability of the company to maintain its competitive position in Europe after Brexit.
"If Nissan will lose competitiveness in Europe, the future of Sunderland will be bleak", he said.
"I'm worried about the future of the Nissan ... I'm not very optimistic for the future of the company, knowing the results, the leadership and everything that happens", - said Mr. Ghosn.
In November last year, Nissan reported that its half yearly profit fell 70%. The automaker also cut its annual forecast to an 11-year low.
This followed the announcement in July 2019 on the reduction of 12,500 jobs after the fall of quarterly profit.
Mr. Ghosn said that another problem for Nissan is a drop in the stock price.
"the Shareholders don't usually go to protests, they vote with their feet, they just sell," he said, adding that Nissan shares fell more than 37% since the time of his arrest, while the shares of automobile industry grew by 12% over the same period of time.
Analysts attribute the problem to Nissan with the drop in sales after the removal of the Rut and a significant strengthening of the yen, which has also reduced the competitiveness of the brand in the international market.
Mr rut fled from the Japanese law enforcement authorities from Tokyo to Lebanon on 29 December and gave a press conference on Wednesday, January 8. He said he was a "hostage" in Japan, and he had a choice: to die or to run.
Japanese prosecutors struck back, saying that the prosecution of Mr Rut "completely ignore his own behavior, and its unilateral criticism of the Japanese criminal justice system is totally unacceptable".
