By the year through March 2006, Nissan 180 had ended, and we were in the first year of the next medium-term plan: Nissan Value-Up. For the first time, our recovery was starting to lose momentum. Some attributed this to a bounce-back effect after reaching the Nissan 180 goal of increasing global sales by 1 million vehicles. Other causes seemed to be affecting the industry at large, brought on by emerging technologies, shifting consumer preferences, high oil prices and the entry of new competition from regions like China and India.
I wasn't worried. The morale of employees was high, and they continued to work hard toward achieving our next set of goals.
