Mercedes-Benz divests Nissan stake for USD 325 million. Check details

Mercedes-Benz has quietly cut loose its 3.8 per cent stake in Nissan Motor, selling the shares for about USD 325 million in a pension fund clean-up that nonetheless jolted markets. The exit came at a discount, 341.3 Yen per share, nearly 6 per cent lower than Nissan’s previous close, and sent the Japanese automaker’s stock tumbling almost 6 per cent, its sharpest single-day fall in months. For a company already navigating turbulence, the timing could not have been worse.

The long shadow of Nissan’s recent past

Nissan’s current struggles cannot be seen in isolation. Once a central pillar of the Renault-Nissan-Mitsubishi alliance, the Japanese brand has steadily lost ground. The high point of its global ambition came under Carlos Ghosn, who expanded aggressively and bound Nissan closely to Renault. His dramatic fall in 2018, amid allegations of misconduct, did more than topple a chief, it fractured the alliance’s sense of purpose.

The years that followed saw Nissan stumble from one crisis to another. Sales fell, market share shrank, and cost cuts became the company’s default survival mode. Earlier this year, Renault pared down its mandatory Nissan stake from 15 per cent to 10 per cent, signalling a loosening of the once-tight crossholdings.

And then came the numbers. A USD 535 million loss in April–June, a market cap now under $10 billion, and a free cash flow that has flipped negative. Renault’s own $11 billion writedown on its Nissan stake underscored just how fragile things had become.

The arrival of CEO Ivan Espinosa in April 2025 marked a turning point of intent, if not yet of fortune. His plan is drastic: cut annual production capacity from 3.5 million to 2.5 million vehicles, and reduce global assembly sites from 17 to 10 by 2027. A leaner Nissan, he argues, is the only path to survival.

Back to the Mercedes exit

Which is why Mercedes-Benz’s move stings. The German automaker has held Nissan stock since 2016, when Daimler and Nissan collaborated on compact cars and engines. To sell now, just as Espinosa is attempting to steady the ship, is both financially logical and symbolically harsh.

Mercedes calls it routine portfolio management. Investors see something else: a signal that confidence in Nissan is thinning further. Demand for the block sale was strong, top institutional buyers snapped up 70 per cent of the shares, but the market’s reaction was telling. A Nissan stock already weighed down by weak earnings suddenly looked like a falling knife.

For Espinosa, the challenge is stark. Nissan faces not just the ghosts of its past but also a ferocious present, Chinese EV makers muscling into its markets, U.S. rivals doubling down on profitability, and Japanese peer Toyota pulling further ahead.

Mercedes-Benz may insist its departure was pragmatic, not personal. Yet symbolism matters in the car business. One of the world’s most storied luxury brands has walked away, and Nissan is left to convince investors, customers, and its own workforce that the turnaround is real.

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