Struggling Japanese auto giant Nissan has issued a major profit warning, forecasting a huge loss of up to $5.3 billion in the 2024-25 financial year, AFP reports.

As one of the top 10 automakers by unit sales, Nissan is heavily indebted, has trouble selling vehicles in the Chinese market and, like its peers, faces a potential hit from US President Donald Trump's tariffs on cars.

"We are taking the prudent step of revising our full-year guidance reflecting a thorough review of our results and the book value of our manufacturing assets," Chief Executive Ivan Espinosa said.

"We now expect a significant net loss for the year, driven primarily by a large asset impairment and restructuring charges as we continue to stabilize the company. Despite these challenges, we have significant financial resources, a strong product pipeline and the determination to turn Nissan around in the period ahead," he added.

Nissan - which will announce earnings in mid-May for the 2024-25 fiscal year ended March 31 - said it expects to report a full-year net loss of 700-750 billion yen ($4.9-5.3 billion).

In February, the company forecast a much smaller full-year net loss of 80 billion yen ($560 million).

In recent years, Nissan has gone from crisis to crisis as it was hit by the arrest of its former boss Carlos Ghosn, the Kovid pandemic and the war in Ukraine.

Last year, Nissan announced 9,000 job cuts worldwide and reported a 93% drop in first-half net profit.

Then merger talks with its rival Honda - seen as an attempt to catch up with Tesla and Chinese electric car firms - collapsed in February.

Those discussions broke down after Honda offered to turn its rival into a subsidiary instead of the previously announced plan to integrate under a new holding company. | BGNES