The Japanese automaker is struggling to fix its brand image and get growth going again following the arrest of former Chairman Carlos Ghosn. Ghosn says he is innocent. He is awaiting trial in Japan on various financial misconduct allegations. "Our situation right now is extremely severe," Saikawa said, noting attractive models were coming with technology like artificial intelligence and zero emissions to boost sales. "Our stance to lead the industry is unchanging." In April-June, Nissan's profit nose-dived to 6.4 billion yen ($59 million), down drastically from 115.8 billion yen the same quarter in the previous fiscal year. Quarterly sales shrank 13% to 2.37 trillion yen ($22 billion). For the fiscal year that ended in March, annual profit dropped to less than half of what Nissan earned in the previous year, at 319.1 billion yen ($2.9 billion), the worst showing since the global financial crisis a decade ago.