Nissan CEO Feels the Heat, EV Factory Tours Booming, Cheating with AI at Work

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Episode #1078: Today we’re talking stormy shareholder meetings at Nissan, the EV factory tours drawing crowds in China, and the Gen Z men getting caught outsourcing their work to AI.

Show Notes with links:

• Nissan’s new CEO Ivan Espinosa faced intense scrutiny from investors at his first annual shareholders' meeting as he moves forward with a bold restructuring plan and ends Renault’s board influence.
  • Espinosa replaces ousted CEO Makoto Uchida, part of a March leadership overhaul aimed at reviving a struggling Nissan.
  • Longtime partner Renault lost direct influence as its board reps, including Chairman Jean-Dominique Senard, were removed—marking a clear shift toward Nissan independence.
  • Shareholders grilled Espinosa on governance, executive pay, and the automaker’s U.S. and Japan strategy.
  • Nissan plans to cut 20,000 jobs, shut 7 factories, and save ¥500B ($3.46B) by March 2028.
  • It projects a ¥200B ($1.38B) Q1 loss, including ¥450B ($3B) in expected U.S. tariff hits.
  • One attendee described the Q&A as “stormy,” saying Espinosa was “smooth and fluent… but equivocated without substance.”

• EV factory tours have become a cultural sensation in China, with tens of thousands scrambling each month for a glimpse behind the robotic curtain of brands like Xiaomi and Nio.
  • Xiaomi Auto's factory receives over 27,000 applications per night for limited tour slots, offering racetrack test drives and now souvenirs.
  • Nio drew 130,000 visitors last year; several other automakers are jumping on board.
  • What began as three monthly tours at Xiaomi has expanded to weekday and weekend offerings for over 1,100 visitors.
  • Visitors describe vast facilities with “only a handful of workers” as robots handle most of the labor.
  • “It offers a chance to not only see the production line up close, but also experience the human side of the brand,” said analyst Freya Zhang.

• A new survey reveals that while AI boosts Gen Z productivity, a surprising number—especially men—are bending the rules by passing off AI work as their own.
  • 40% of Gen Z men admitted to submitting AI-generated work as their own; only 20% of women did the same.
  • Nearly 1 in 3 Gen Z workers have knowingly broken company policy using AI and 30% say they’ve created fake work with AI to appear more productive.
  • 42% of Gen Z men say they worry AI could replace them at work—compared to just 33% of women.
  • 23% of men said they couldn’t do their job without AI; only 14% of women felt that way.
  • Eva Chan, career expert at Resume Genius, “The concern is workers start outsourcing not just tasks, but their judgment, confidence, and even their voice.”

Join Paul J Daly and Kyle Mountsier every morning for the Automotive State of the Union podcast as they connect the dots across car dealerships, retail trends, emerging tech like AI, and cultural shifts—bringing clarity, speed, and people-first insight to automotive leaders navigating a rapidly changing industry.

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