Nissan’s New Turnaround Plan Suggests Their CEO Might Be Listening to Dave Ramsey on His Commute

If you’ve ever listened to The Ramsey Show for longer than ten minutes, you’ve heard some calls that make you question how these people managed to operate a microwave, let alone a household budget. But few calls top the legendary one from 2021.

A Texas couple rang in, dead serious: they were $1 million in debt. And not from real estate investments or buying a chain of Zaxby’s. No, this was the all-inclusive buffet of bad decisions… student loans, credit cards, personal loans, two cars they couldn’t afford, a pool they financed, and the real belly tickler… an above-ground hot tub they put on a HELOC.

Dave went nuts with his southern accent. “You are plumb loco. I want you eating beans and rice, rice and beans. You’re not seeing the inside of a restaurant unless you’re working in one. And you better sell so much stuff the kids think they’re next.” It was scary and funny at the same time. And now, Nissan is in the same spot… eating metaphorical beans in the office and deciding which assets to pawn.

New CEO Ivan Espinosa (who took over in April and probably had no idea he was inheriting the auto industry’s equivalent of that Texas hot tub couple) recently said, “We are convinced that the plan is enough and robust.” Which is exactly what people say when they’re absolutely not convinced. But before we roast Nissan like a Thanksgiving turkey stuffed with bad decisions, let’s take a look at the plan. Actually, rewind the tape, because Nissan once had its sights set on selling 8 million cars a year. That was the Big Dream. “Let’s beat Toyota” energy. In 2016, they peaked at 5.6 million. And now, they’re dragging in just 3.3 to 3.4 million units a year.

Now Nissan’s pulling the full Dave Ramsey playbook. 11,000 jobs gone. Seven plants closing. They’re selling off so many assets, Carlos Ghosn’s escape crate might be next on Facebook Marketplace (if you don’t get the joke, look it up and thank me later).

And the real humiliation is that they’re now sharing a U.S. battery plant with Ford. Not acquiring. Not merging. Sharing. Like two broke roommates splitting a futon. The only thing missing is a dry-erase calendar and a passive aggressive Post-it about dishes. They’re doing this to dodge Trump’s 50% import tariffs, which would’ve wrecked their cost structure. So now, making batteries on U.S. soil is less about innovation, and more about survival. If Dave Ramsey had a whiteboard at Nissan HQ, he’d be drawing a giant arrow that says “STOP IMPORTING STUPID.”

And it doesn’t stop there. Nissan’s now being sued… by its own dealerships. A group of them claims Nissan started throttling vehicle allocations as revenge for lingering loyalty to ex-CEO turned international escape artist Carlos Ghosn, who famously snuck out of Japan in a box. The sad thing is this is just another day in Nissan’s life.

And yet, the stock isn’t totally dead. Tokyo-listed shares are down 24% on the year, while U.S. shares are only down about 15%. Could be worse. But let’s not pretend it’s good. Sidenote: I think Dave Ramsey doing his show with publicly traded companies would be hilarious.

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