Nissan shares plunge after profit warning [Video]

Nissan tumbled more than 10 percent on Thursday after the Japanese automaker issued a profit warning, citing “intense sales competition”, especially in the United States.

The company and its domestic rivals are also struggling to stand their ground in China’s market as fast-growing electric vehicle firms backed by Beijing race ahead.

Net profit in the first quarter plunged 73 percent year-on-year to 28.6 billion yen ($190 million), Nissan said — far below analyst expectations of 97.1 billion yen.

The auto giant now predicts a full-year net profit of 300 billion yen ($2 billion), down from 380 billion yen previously forecast.

“Our first quarter results were very challenging” and “we have implemented measures to recover our performance,” CEO Makoto Uchida said in a statement.

“From the second half we aim to maximise sales of new and refreshed models …