Nissan CEO on Autonomous Driving, Making Cars in US

Nissan CEO Ivan Espinosa outlines the automaker's plan to accelerate development, expand autonomous driving across 90% of its lineup, and shift production to the US to mitigate tariff risks and stay competitive amid geopolitical uncertainty and a changing Chinese market. - Nissan is developing AI-defined vehicles with end-to-end autonomous driving capability in partnership with Wave. - The company plans to deploy autonomous technology across 90% of its lineup, starting with the El Grand in Japan by FY2027. - Development time has been reduced by 40% to 30 months to cope with an unpredictable global environment. - US production mix increased from 45% to 60% to hedge against tariffs and currency volatility. - Nissan is aggressively cutting costs on Mexican-made vehicles to offset the 25% US tariff and capture affordability-seeking buyers. - China is highlighted as a unique ecosystem where 80% of products already embed autonomous features, influencing future global standards. - The company intends to remain in China both for sales and to learn new methods and processes.