UPDATE: Nissan Philippines has released a statement on the matter (2/14).
After calling off their mega merger with Honda, Nissan CEO Makoto Uchida faced investors as he detailed drastic steps to keep the carmaker alive. Chief among them is the closure of three plants in the next two years including the carmaker’s manufacturing presence in Thailand.
Uchida outlined this plan in a February 13 investors meeting as part of Nissan’s ramped up self-rescue plan that will run up until March 31, 2027.
The Nissan Thailand plant will be shuttered in the first quarter of the new fiscal year starting in April 1, 2025. Another will be closed in the October-December time frame, and the third will come offline in the fiscal year ending March 31, 2027. Uchida did not identify those plants.
Meanwhile, there will be shift reductions and consolidations at the Smyrna and Canton plants in the U.S.
The news could have a drastic effect on Nissan’s business in the Philippines. Currently, the Navara is Nissan Philippines’ best-selling nameplate, while the Terra is the second. Out of the 27,136 units sold by Nissan Philippines sold in 2024, the Navara accounted for 10,297 units, while the Terra sold 5,779 units.
The plant closures will cut Nissan’s workforce by 6,500 (out of the 9,000 planned). Further manpower reductions will come from 2,500 global “indirect employees.” The carmaker will also implement hiring reductions and speed up voluntary separation programs. Further reductions labor costs will come from the expansion of shared service centers by 1,000 positions and prioritized fixed marketing expenses.
The cuts will reduce Nissan’s global production capacity by 20 percent—from the current 5 million units to 4 million units by fiscal year 2026. It should also boost the plant utilization ratio to 85 percent, from today’s 70 percent, at least in its manufacturing facilities outside China.
Uchida also announced plans to “simplify” its vehicle design by adjusting performance and content across its six major global products. This will help curb manufacturing costs and reduce parts complexity by up to 70 percent.
The Nissan CEO said that they will introduce new plug-in hybrid models in FY25 and FY26, and refresh its award-winning mini vehicles and large minivans. Nissan will also strengthen its zero-emission EV lineup with the new Leaf, an all-new compact EV, and a new NEV targeted at the Chinese market.
He also hinted to the third-generation Nissan e-Power powertrain which offers several improvements including 20 percent better fuel economy and 20 percent reduction in costs. Fuel efficiency at high speeds has been improved by 15 percent compared to the second generation, says Nissan.
Uchida’s update came as the company reported a 78 percent plunge in operating profit and a net loss in the latest quarter amid bloated inventory, sagging sales, and continued cash burn.
Operating profit sank to 31.1 billion yen (USD 197.5 million) in Nissan’s fiscal third quarter ended December 31, from 141.6 billion yen (USD 899.2 million) a year earlier. On the net level, Nissan sank to a 14.1 billion yen loss (USD 89.5 million), from a 29.1 billion yen (USD 184.8 million) profit the year before.
It marked the second-straight quarter of red ink, forcing Nissan to downgrade its profit forecast.
Worldwide retail sales declined 2.2 percent to 801,000 vehicles in the October-December period, while global production fell 12 percent to 742,235 vehicles in the quarter.
Quite a shocking news as Nissan Philippines also sources not only just the Navara and Terra but also the Almera and the Kicks E-Power from Thailand. Other markets that also imports vehicles from Thailand such as Australia will definitely be hit hard as well.
ReplyDeleteSpeaking of the Navara, it is way already beyond the usual 10-year production cycle as it is now very due for a full-model change but due to this developing news, what would be the fate of the development of the upcoming generation Navara even it would share underpinnings with the Triton once this happens?
Thailand give too much incentives to chinese EV manufacturer to the detriment
ReplyDeleteof its ICE manufacturer which mostly exporting its output. Thailand put its bet to become EV exporter, but i think it will terribly lost. China EV brands will export EV's from its china plant and not from thailand. Sorry thailand you lost
ASEAN regions (except Thailand) are insignificant in the grand scheme of things. Therefore, this decision is a pretty logical move from Nissan. They failed to capture a significant share of the Thai market and overall ASEAN to be relevant. Considering the next-gen Navara will be based on the Triton, I wouldn't be surprised if Mitsubishi Thailand builds the next-gen Navara and Terra like how Isuzu builds the BT-50 for Mazda, or like how the Livina is built in Mitsubishi Indonesia.
ReplyDeleteNext generation Nissan Navara is gonna be manufactured in the same plant used by Mitsubishi Motors Thailand in Chonburi
ReplyDeleteEnding the production of the slow sellers like the Terra,Almera and Kicks e-Power in Thailand makes sense as these vehicles are expensive to produce and hard to sell.
Nissan Philippines should try importing made in Malaysia Nissan vehicles
Malaysia is now Nissan's only key Southeast Asian market...
DeleteI think only a rich Chinese company can save Nissan.
ReplyDeleteNo one cares...
DeleteDongfeng and Yulon Group
Deletedid nissan's reputation suffered a hit after their cvt fiasco?
ReplyDeleteI don't think so, it products are no longer interesting as before. They did not embrace change/technology.
DeleteYes, but, in the greater scheme of things, this is much more about corporate pride and gross mismanagement. Nissan reminds me of Lehman Brothers, quite frankly.
DeleteFrom the looks of it with the coming magnite we'll be sourcing future Nissan's in Bharat(India)
ReplyDeleteIf not TH, where else can NPi sources its Navara, Terra, Almera and Kicks and even the incoming Magnite? IN perhaps?
ReplyDeleteThe Navara and Terra are also made in China in collaboration with Dongfeng. However, only gasoline options are available and the Terra (called Paladin in China) still uses the pre-facelift face.
DeleteAlmera could be imported from Malaysia. The Kicks could lose the e-Power powertrain and be a typical ICE imported from China. Magnite is only manufactured from India, therefore, it will be imported from there.
An ice kick would sell well
DeleteDongfeng do sell the 2.3 liter turbo diesel and EV variants of the Rich pickup truck in the Philippines which is just a rebadged and improved version of the Navara
DeleteNissan Kicks isn't available in China AFAIK
Nissan Kicks e-Power started its production and sales in Malaysia this year..Nissan Almera in Malaysia is still the older one
Maybe its the captain's fault as to why the ship is sinking?
ReplyDeleteI remember a time when nissan was flourishing under ghosn's leadership
Nissan PH should shift to selling Patrols. The actions described in the article shouldn't only be considered when the company is in trouble. Management should be agile and nimble to adapt to changing conditions. I may be wrong but it seems Nissan is run by old Japanese men too set in their bureaucratic ways to change. They never read Toyota's book on kaizen process (continuous improvement).
ReplyDeleteNissan is in deep trouble. They need to separate themselves from Renault.
ReplyDelete