Latest news with #NissanJapan
IOL News
20-05-2025
- Automotive
- IOL News
Nissan's global restructuring raises concerns over South Africa's automotive future
As Nissan endeavors to streamline operations by reducing its global workforce by 20 000 on top of last year's 9 000 job cuts, concerns mount about the potential closure of its Rosslyn Plant, strategically located outside Pretoria. Image: File: Timothy Bernard/Independent Newspapers Banele Ginidza Nissan's recent global restructuring initiative, known as Re:Nissan, has sparked widespread speculation about its far-reaching effects on South Africa's automotive industry. The announcement comes amid a wave of employment cuts and factory closures, following the company's staggering R82.2 billion revenue loss for the fiscal year 2024. As Nissan endeavors to streamline operations by reducing its global workforce by 20 000 on top of last year's 9 000 job cuts, concerns mount about the potential closure of its Rosslyn Plant, strategically located outside Pretoria. The Re:Nissan strategy, also dubbed 'The Arc,' was unveiled last year as part of a broader plan to consolidate its 17 factories down to 10 by 2027, while also modifying its research and development programmes. Under the guidance of CEO Ivan Espinosa, the objective is to claw back R61 trillion in fixed and variable costs by establishing a more efficient operating framework for profitability by fiscal year 2026. Espinosa's candid assessment highlighted the high cost structure and volatile global market conditions that necessitate these changes. Video Player is loading. Play Video Play Unmute Current Time 0:00 / Duration -:- Loaded : 0% Stream Type LIVE Seek to live, currently behind live LIVE Remaining Time - 0:00 This is a modal window. Beginning of dialog window. Escape will cancel and close the window. Text Color White Black Red Green Blue Yellow Magenta Cyan Transparency Opaque Semi-Transparent Background Color Black White Red Green Blue Yellow Magenta Cyan Transparency Opaque Semi-Transparent Transparent Window Color Black White Red Green Blue Yellow Magenta Cyan Transparency Transparent Semi-Transparent Opaque Font Size 50% 75% 100% 125% 150% 175% 200% 300% 400% Text Edge Style None Raised Depressed Uniform Dropshadow Font Family Proportional Sans-Serif Monospace Sans-Serif Proportional Serif Monospace Serif Casual Script Small Caps Reset restore all settings to the default values Done Close Modal Dialog End of dialog window. Advertisement Next Stay Close ✕ 'The reality is clear. We have a very high cost structure. To complicate matters further, the global market environment is volatile and unpredictable, making planning and investment increasingly challenging,' Espinosa said in a statement on Nissan Japan's strategy. Among the factories earmarked for closure are the Oppama and Shonan facilities in Japan, alongside additional plants in Mexico, India, and Argentina. With the prospect of closing the Rosslyn Plant, which has been operational since 1966, the implications for the local job market are worrying, particularly following an initial cut of 400 positions in 2023 stemming from the cessation of NP200 production. The Motor Industry Staff Association (MISA) on Monday said the announcement had not yet filtered through to its membership. "MISA has not received notifications of possible restructuring in accordance with the provisions of the Labour Relation Act from Nissan, although as indicated, they might come from different dealership groups as was the case with Volvo Cars South Africa," MISA said in response to enquiries. In contrast, Nissan's Re:Nissan strategy arguably offers a silver lining for South Africa's automotive sector, as evidenced by a recent R3bn investment aimed at modernising the Rosslyn Plant for new Nissan Navara model production. This investment is projected to bolster capacity by 30 000 units per year and create approximately 400 new jobs, suggesting that despite potential setbacks, there was scope for growth and opportunity in the market. The Re:Nissan plan also includes the introduction of new passenger vehicles, emphasising a shift from traditional bakkies to more popular segments like electric vehicles (EVs) and SUVs to the South African market. This strategic pivot could bolster Nissan's competitiveness and market share, with ambitions to reach over 15% in South Africa, aided by government incentives such as the Automotive Production and Development Programme. Industry experts assert that while Nissan's future plans signal a period of investment and growth, the anticipated closure of the Rosslyn Plant could still be devastating for its workforce, especially in light of preceding layoffs. In 2022, the National Union of Metalworkers of South Africa (Numsa) picketed outside the Japanese Embassy in Pretoria over, in part, Nissan South Africa's failure to engage the union on Nissan EV Ambition 2030 Vision and the lack of transparency on the future of the South African Plant amidst challenges posed by 4th Industrial revolution. Numsa demanded that Nissan follow the principles of a Just Transition as some workers were likely to be displaced because the new technology is not labour intensive. BUSINESS REPORT
Yahoo
07-03-2025
- Automotive
- Yahoo
Farewell to the Nissan GT-R as the Order Book Officially Closes
Nissan has officially stopped taking orders for the R35-generation GT-R. The latest GT-R has been in the Nissan lineup for 18 years. The R35-generation GT-R was discontinued in the United States in 2024. It's official: Nissan's GT-R is off the order books. The Nissan Japan website has put a note on its GT-R page that basically says it's received all of the orders that it can manage through the end of the GT-R's production run. Currently, Nissan doesn't appear to have a Godzilla successor heading to a Nissan dealership in the near future. Of course, the R35 generation made its way to public roadways in 2007 and notably found an audience in the United States. The R35 GT-R packs a turbocharged 3.8-liter V6 under its hood, which bucked the trend of Nissan's RB-series inline-six engines that powered the previous Skyline GT-R. Over its long tenure in Nissan's portfolio, the Skyline-less GT-R saw a series of important updates but didn't move too far away from its core VR38DETT and six-speed DCT combination. The official note from the Nissan Japan website says, translated in full: 'We have received many orders for the Nissan GT-R, and we have now finished accepting orders for the planned production quantity. We would like to express our sincere gratitude to our many customers for their patronage over the years since its release in 2007.' It's also worth noting that Nissan might have a bigger project to tackle than finding the funds to build a next-generation GT-R. The company recently contemplated merging with Honda, but merger discussions fell apart when Honda apparently intended to fold Nissan into the Honda brand as a subsidiary. Regardless of Nissan's future, this final generation of GT-R will go down in the history books as one of Nissan's most interesting products—and a sound successor to the string of popular Skyline GT-R models. Do you think Nissan will ever make another GT-R? Tell us your thoughts below.
Yahoo
28-02-2025
- Automotive
- Yahoo
The R35 GT-R Is Absolutely, Positively, Truly Dead for Real This Time
After nearly two decades on sale, the story of the R35-generation Nissan GT-R has — finally — come to a close. A Nissan Japan website dedicated to the GT-R has signified the end of the run, noting that the brand will no longer be accepting new orders for the aging supercar. It's officially the end of an automotive era. The website, linked here, features the following statement from Nissan, which was confirmed to Road & Track by their North American counterparts: 'We have received many orders for the Nissan GT-R and have now finished accepting orders for the planned production quantity. We would like to express our sincere gratitude to all our customers for their support since its release in 2007.' The end of the R35 in Japan comes a stunning 18 years after the car's sales debut, which puts it in rarefied air among long-legged nameplates. That said, there's nothing that old-school about the R35. In many respects, it was the first of the modern supercars. The R35 GT-R featured a turbocharged 3.8-liter V-6 powertrain, complicated yet effective all-wheel drive, and even a dual-clutch transmission. It wasn't a video game on wheels, as it seemed when it launched in the George W. Bush administration, as much as it was a look into our automotive future. And while the R35 certainly hasn't reached the same legendary status as its Skyline GT-R predecessors, they've established a following of their own. Social media is full of these things doing everything from time attack to illicit street racing, and succeeding at all of them. The aftermarket has made the sky the limit for these machine, with motors that can make well over 2000 hp. It's been a long, slow fade to black for the R35; it left the European market in 2022, before dipping out of the United States at the end of 2024. Nissan has already confirmed that the nameplate will get a successor, though we don't have a specific timeline in mind at this time. We expect such a model to feature at least some form of electrification, given that emissions regulations are what drove the R35 out of Europe and the U.S. to begin with. Hopefully, we don't have to wait much longer for a happier announcement from Nissan. If you can't wait, though, there are still a handful of zero-mile R35s for sale in the States. You Might Also Like You Need a Torque Wrench in Your Toolbox Tested: Best Car Interior Cleaners The Man Who Signs Every Car
