Latest news with #NissanSA
Zawya
21-05-2025
- Automotive
- Zawya
South Africa: Nissan considering Rosslyn plant closure
Nissan is reportedly considering closing its Rosslyn plant in South Africa, with the brand's local division telling us it's currently 'conducting a detailed assessment' of the situation. Nissan's Rosslyn plant in South Africa is on the beleaguered automaker's list of 7 production facilities set to close over the next two years, according to a fresh report out of Japan. However, Nissan SA says it's not able to confirm whether the Gauteng-based plant will indeed be affected. Earlier in May 2025, Nissan announced a worldwide 'recovery' plan that includes 20,000 job cuts as well as the closure of seven production plants over the next two years. Now, citing unnamed sources, Reuters reports that the list includes twi factories in Japan and two in Mexico, along with plants in South Africa, India and Argentina. However, Nissan's global head office says the report is 'speculative and not based on any official information'. The Rosslyn plant currently builds only the Navara. asked Nissan South Africa to comment on the future of its Rosslyn plant and the company told us it's 'currently conducting a detailed assessment regarding the announced plant closures', adding in its statement that this process is 'internal'. As such, the Japanese firm's local division says it is unfortunately not able to confirm 'at this stage' which plants 'will be affected'. Nissan's global cost-cutting drive is built around reducing its workforce by 20,000 employees (including the previously announced 9,000 job cuts) and 'consolidating' its production plants from 17 to 10 by fiscal year 2027 (which starts in April 2027). Ivan Espinosa, Nissan president and CEO. In addition, Nissan says it will switch to a more 'market-specific approach', positioning the United States, Japan, China, Europe, the Middle East and Mexico as 'key markets' and adopting a 'customised approach to other markets'. As a reminder, in October 2023, Nissan South Africa entered a 'formal consultation phase to restructure the business '. This followed the news that the NP200 half-tonne bakkie – which went out of production at Rosslyn in March 2024 – would not receive its planned replacement. After some 16 years, Rosslyn production of the NP200 ended in March 2024. Since the NP200's demise, the Rosslyn factory – long described as Nissan's 'light commercial vehicle hub' for Africa – has been producing only the long-in-the-tooth D23-series Navara. However, in October 2024, Nissan SA's Managing Director Maciej Klenkiewicz told us the company was 'working on the replacement, but the process is starting from scratch'. At the reveal of the Navara Pro-4X Warrior in March 2025, Jordi Vila, President of Nissan Africa, said he 'sees a strong future for our company in Africa', adding that the Navara 'represents a core model in our plans to capture opportunities and expand our footprint'. Single- and double-cab Navara units are made at Rosslyn, for SA and other African markets. Over the opening four months of 2025, Nissan SA registered 1,838 units of the Rosslyn-made Navara locally, seeing it rank sixth on the list of Mzansi's best-selling bakkies, year to date (the Navara occupied the same position in 2024, with 4,874 units sold in SA). Over the same four-month period, the factory exported 3,101 units. Nissan officially opened its Rosslyn plant in 1966, meaning the factory has been producing new vehicles for nearly 60 years. In addition to various Datsun and Nissan nameplates, the factory has also built models from other brands, such as the first-generation Fiat Uno and Renault Sandero.
IOL News
19-05-2025
- Automotive
- IOL News
Nissan considering closing its South African plant, Japanese source says
The Nissan Navara is currently the only product built at the Rosslyn facility. Nissan dropped a bombshell on its workforce last week with the announcement that it planned to expand its 'turnaround plan' to include more plant closures and layoffs than previously envisaged. Following an annual net loss of 671 billion yen (R82 billion), the company announced on Tuesday that it planned to close seven of its 17 factories by fiscal year 2027, while reducing the workforce by around 20,000. Unfortunately, it appears that Nissan's Rosslyn plant in Gauteng could be a casualty of this significant restructure, if the latest international reports are anything to go by. International news agency Reuters, citing a single unnamed source, reported over the weekend that the South African plant was among those being considered for closure by the parent company in Japan. Also facing possible closure are Nissan's plants in India and Argentina, one of its Mexican factories and two Japanese facilities, with the latter also mentioned by a second source. However, Nissan said in a statement that these reports, on the specific plant closures, were speculative and not based on any official information from the company. 'At this time, we will not be providing further comments on this matter," Nissan said. 'We are committed to maintaining transparency with our stakeholders and will communicate any relevant updates as necessary." However, the South African plant does appear to be in a vulnerable position in terms of its volumes, with current production levels averaging around 1,200 units per month in the first four months of 2025. This includes production of the Navara single cab and double cab bakkies for South African consumption and exports into Africa. The Navara is currently the only vehicle produced at Rosslyn, following the discontinuation of the NP200 compact bakkie in 2024, after its Russian-developed replacement was cancelled due to the war with Ukraine. Around that time, a Nissan SA representative told Moneyweb that the company was attempting to source another successor to the NP200 and was also investigating a third model for the Rosslyn plant. Nissan's more aggressive international restructure puts all of these projects in jeopardy, although it's worth keeping in mind that no final decisions appear to have been made with regard to plant closures. Get your news on the go, click here to join the IOL News WhatsApp channel IOL
