Japanese automaker Nissan’s chief executive steps down after dismal results. Makoto Uchida will remain as a director until Nissan’s general shareholders’ meeting. Nissan is projecting a loss of 80 billion yen ($540 million) for the full fiscal year through the end of this month. He called off talks last month with Japanese rival Honda Motor Co., announced late last year, to set up a joint holding company to integrate its businesses. He also said their strategic partnership to realize synergies on specific projects like electric vehicles and other research will continue. The company said in a statement Tuesday that Ivan Espinosa, who is now the company’S chief planning officer, will take UchIDA’’s place. The announcement was made in response to Nissan’s dismal financial results for the first half of the fiscal year, which ended on September 30. The automaker is expected to report a net loss of $540 million for the whole of fiscal year 2014/15. It is also projecting a profit of less than $1 billion for the second half of 2014/2015, which ends on October 31.