Nissan to close auto plant in China amid intensifying EV price war
Nissan Motor Co. will close its passenger car factory in Jiangsu province, China, people familiar with the matter said Friday, as the Japanese automaker faces intensifying price competition and the rising popularity of electric vehicles made by local brands, Kyodo reports.
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.
The plant's closure follows Mitsubishi Motors Corp.'s decision to discontinue vehicle production in the country last year. Honda Motor Co. is also slashing its full-time production workforce in China.
The market share of Japanese automakers in China decreased to 12.1 percent as of May from 23.1 percent in 2020, while that of local brands rose to 61.3 percent from 38.4 percent in the same period, according to the China Association of Automobile Manufacturers.
