- Due to slowing sales and struggling finances, Nissan may only survive for 12-14 months if it can’t find a new anchor investor.
- Nissan recently revealed it is selling more than 149 million Mitsubishi shares.
- The Frontier and Rogue account for roughly 30% of the brand’s US sales.
Nissan is cutting production in the US through to the end of March 2025 in a move that will impact the output of the popular Frontier and Rogue.
It’s been revealed that US output will be reduced by 17% compared with a year earlier as the brand deals with declining global sales. The cuts will impact the Canton assembly plant, which handles production of the Frontier pickup truck and other models, while also affecting the Smyrna factory in Tennessee, where the Rogue is built. These two models account for roughly 30% of the brand’s total US sales.
Read: Nissan Says 1,000 US Staff Will Take Early Retirement
Nikkei Asia reports the decision to cut production through to the end of March comes after a decision was already made to slow production at the two sites through the end of December, reducing work from five days a week to four.
Nissan says it’s evaluating production forecasts to better meet market trends and demand for its models.
Word of these production cuts comes at a bad time for the Japanese automaker. It was recently revealed Nissan is cutting 9,000 jobs globally and is reducing its total output by 20% due to slow sales and reduced profit forecasts. Last week, the brand said approximately 1,000 of its US employees are expected to accept early retirement offers by the end of the year, equating to approximately 6% of its local workforce.
Just days ago, fears about Nissan’s future were heightened after two unnamed senior company officials suggested the brand has just “12 or 14 months to survive,” unless it can find a new anchor investor. Evidently, Nissan’s recent decision to sell 149,028,300 shares of Mitsubishi won’t be enough to secure its financial future.
In August, Honda, Mitsubishi, and Nissan announced they would work together to build electric vehicles and software. While this tie-up has been positioned as a partnership, former Nissan and Renault boss Carlos Ghosn has suggested it could be a disguised takeover of Mitsubishi and Nissan by Honda.
