Nissan hints future of Rosslyn is safe despite speculation
Nissan South Africa has broken its silence on ongoing reports that its Rosslyn plant outside Pretoria is set to close as part of the Re:Nissan restructuring plan.
Seven factories in-line for closure
Back in May, Reuters reported that at least seven of the brand's 17 global production sites are facing closure before the end of the decade, with those most likely being Oppama and Shonan in Japan, the Renault co-run Chennai and Santa Isabel plants in India and Argentina, and at least one of its three plants in Mexico.
ALSO READ: Reports claim Rosslyn to be one of Nissan's plants facing closure
This after the brand, earlier this year, announced a net loss of R82.2-billion, with the added knock-off being a planned 15% cut in its global workforce from the original 9 000 announced last year, to at least 20 000 by 2027.
At the same time, its failed merger with Honda, with the subsequent resignation of CEO Makoto Uchida, has been cited as a further reason for the brand's worsening position.
Rosslyn's dilemma
One of the plants rumoured for closure, the 59-year old Rosslyn facility, which currently only produces the Navara for South Africa and Sub-Saharan Africa, has been a point of uncertainty following the withdrawal of the NP200 in 2023.
The result of Russia's invasion of Ukraine, the move resulted in Nissan cutting its workforce by 400, despite its Chairperson for the Africa, Middle East, India, Europe and Oceania regions, Guillaume Cartier, maintaining as last year that it is looking into producing a second model to fully utilise the plant's capacity.
At the same time, Nissan's Managing Director for South Africa and Independent African Markets, Maciej Klenkiewicz, said a study is underway in to the feasibility of producing another model alongside the Navara.
Sign of staying?
Addressing the media at the launch of the Navara Stealth in Magaliesburg last week, Nissan President for Africa, Jordi Vila, alluded to that, despite persisting rumours, the brand has no intentions of exiting South Africa or shutting down Rosslyn.
This, after it was confirmed this week that the Oppama plant will indeed cease operations by 2028, while the Chennai and Santa Isabel facilities could become fully owned by Renault and result in current Nissan products continuing, though fully assembled by its alliance partner.
'We need to be proud of our heritage and where we come from. And when I look at Nissan's history in South Africa and the models, we should not lose that and [instead] build on it for the future. It is a market where we want to be from the past to the future,' Vila said.
'We are committed to growth in Africa and South Africa. Our plan is to grow – we grew with Navara and Magnite, and we want to grow the concept of built in Africa for Africa.
'We should be proud of producing this quality of vehicle (in Africa), and we don't want to give up on that,' Vila concluded.
ALSO READ: Nissan's bleak outlook: revenue down, looming 20 000 job cuts
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