Nissan is dying and taking globalisation with it

IN RETROSPECT, you can put a date on the moment globalisation peaked: Jan 24, 2018.

In the rarefied winter air of Davos, Switzerland, Carlos Ghosn – then boss of the sprawling alliance of Nissan Motor Co, Renault and Mitsubishi Motors Corp – was asked what he thought of a tentative initial round of tariffs on washing machines and solar panels imposed by President Donald Trump.

Flush with the confidence of delivering sales results confirming the alliance was the world’s biggest car group by volume, and with his eye on a unification of the business under a single corporate roof, he seemed untroubled. “I don’t see anything that is going to lead to a heavy significant burst of protectionism,” he told Bloomberg Television.