Nissan India Clarifies About Indian Plant Shutdown Speculations

Chintan Mehta

20 May 2025, 03:34 PM

Nissan may be planning to close factories in South Africa, India, Argentina and domestically in Japan as a move to lower their operating costs. If this plan is approved, it will be Nissan’s largest global restructuring since the early part of the 2000s.

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2025 & Beyond: Nissan’s Decisions Relative to Global Presence

Trend	Nissan's Reflection	Global Impact
Overcapacity Crisis	Closing 7 of 17 global plants	Other OEMs may follow suit
Geopolitical Risks	Exiting South America & South Africa	Shift to geopolitically stable zones
EV Disruption	Leaf legacy not enough, needs reboot	Room for aggressive EV-native players
Labor Cost Dilemma	15% global workforce reduction	Unions & gig labor discussions heat up
Strategic Alliances	Renault now owns Indian operations	Rebalancing power in legacy alliances

Several sources have confirmed that the company is reviewing its operations which might end with just three assembly plants in Japan remaining. The Oppama plant which began operating in 1961 and is significant for making the Nissan Leaf, now produces up to 240,000 units and provides employment for about 3,900 people. There are 1,200 employees working at the Shonan plant which can produce up to 150,000 commercial vans.

There are discussions underway in India, South Africa and Argentina to decide what happens to Nissan’s production plants from overseas. Two current plants in Mexico are currently being looked at and they plan to send all production to the Civac facility in Morelos. Recently, the company stated that the manufacture of its Frontier and Navara pickup trucks which previously occurred in both Mexico and Argentina, will take place exclusively in the Civac plant.

Nissan India issued a statement to address the rumors:

“The recent reports regarding potential plant closures are speculative and not based on any official information of the company. We have officially announced the consolidation of pickup production in Mexico and Renault’s 100% ownership acquisition of our joint Indian business. We remain focused on operations and workforce.”

Because of Renault’s purchase of Nissan’s share in RNAIPL, the French company now owns all the shares and leads the business in India. Industry experts believe that the transfer of ownership is an indirect indication of Nissan leaving the Indian market.

Part of these closure possibilities were introduced by new CEO Ivan Espinosa, who stepped into the position earlier this year. His leadership saw Nissan make plans to lay off 15% of its workers worldwide and close 7 plants to stabilize sales and increase future earnings.

Sales of Nissan vehicles abroad fell to 3.3 million last fiscal year, down 42% from the peak of 5.6 million in 2017.

If these closures happen, Nissan will not have closed a plant for situations other than shutting down Murayama in 2001. No official announcement has been made yet about certain areas being closed, but the company affirms that it will remain transparent and in contact with those concerned.

Traditional automakers worldwide are responding to the new global economic situation, as well as changing needs from consumers, by restructuring how they operate.

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