Tokyo, 22 June, /AJMEDIA/
Nissan Motor Co will close its passenger car factory in Jiangsu province, China, people familiar with the matter said, as the Japanese automaker faces intensifying price competition and the rising popularity of electric vehicles made by local brands.
Like its Japanese peers, Nissan has been struggling with declining sales in the world’s largest auto market. Limited options in all-electric cars have been a major setback for Japanese companies as China is experiencing a rapid shift to EVs.
The plant in Changzhou is capable of building about 130,000 units annually, accounting for approximately 10 percent of Nissan’s production in China, the sources said.
The factory, which came online in November 2020, is scheduled to stop operations on Friday, and the production of sport utility vehicles made there will be transferred to a different Nissan plant in China, according to the sources.
Nissan operates eight factories in China through its partnership with state-owned Dongfeng Motor Corp, with a total production capacity of about 1.6 million units per year.
© KYODO
