Carlos Ghosn, the man credited with rescuing Nissan from near ruin seven years ago, was heckled by shareholders today as he apologised for the Japanese car maker's recent poor performance.
The Nissan chief executive told a packed meeting in Yokohama that the company had failed to meet its targets this year and that members of the board would take responsibility by not receiving bonuses.
"In 2006, we did not meet our fiscal-year performance objectives, and we are taking that responsibility seriously," he said. Last year Mr Ghosn and three other board members received a total of ¥390m (£1.6m) in bonuses.
Nissan recorded its first drop in profits for seven years in the financial year that ended in March due to slow sales in Japan and the US.
Profits fell 11% to ¥460.8bn, and global vehicle sales were down by 2.4% from the previous year to 3.48m, though it forecast sales would rise to 3.7m units this year.
Mr Ghosn promised new investment in plants and models, and more vigorous attempts to court emerging markets such as India, where the firm plans to bring out an ultra-cheap car priced at about £3,000 at an as yet unspecified date.
The firm also hopes to improve its performance over the coming year by cutting jobs in Japan and the US and bringing out new models.
"2007 will be a better year for Nissan," Mr Ghosn said.
Mr Ghosn was once hailed as Nissan's saviour for bringing the firm back from the brink of bankruptcy when he arrived from Renault.
But today investors were less complimentary, with a few among the 2,100 shareholders present noisily demanding to know why Nissan had not rolled out more stylish models or changed its "outdated" emblem.
Nissan would need an extra year to reach its annual sales target of 4.2m vehicles originally set for 2009, Mr Ghosn admitted, adding that it was not in talks with other car makers about expanding the alliance it already has with Renault, which owns 44% of the Japanese firm.
"Today, our shareholders, both from Nissan and Renault, consider that extending the alliance is more a risk than an opportunity," he said.
