Nissan To Close Its First Overseas Plant After 60 Years; Calls It A ‘Difficult But Necessary’ Move
The closure is part of Nissan’s broader restructuring plan, which includes consolidating production in Mexico and reducing the number of global manufacturing sites.
Nissan Motor will shut down its CIVAC plant in Cuernavaca, Mexico, by March 2026, moving all vehicle production to its Aguascalientes facility.
The decision is part of the company’s broader effort to simplify its operations and cut costs under its “Re:Nissan” recovery plan. The transition, which is expected to be completed by the end of fiscal year 2025, will consolidate the production of both current and future models into a single location.
According to Nissan, the Aguascalientes plant has more modern equipment and a better setup to support the company’s long-term goals.
Models currently made at CIVAC, including the NP300, Frontier, and Versa, will be transferred to the new site.
Calling the closure a “difficult but necessary” step, Nissan CEO Ivan Espinosa said that Mexico remains a key part of the company’s long-term strategy.
The CIVAC plant, which began operations in 1966 as Nissan’s first site outside Japan, has produced more than 6.5 million vehicles and accounts for 11% of Nissan’s total vehicle output in Mexico.
Under Re:Nissan, the automaker plans to reduce global production capacity from 3.5 million to 2.5 million units (excluding China), consolidate manufacturing sites from 17 to 10, and achieve plant utilization of around 100%.
Related transition costs are still under review. Nissan’s commercial operations in Mexico remain unchanged.
The announcement comes as Nissan faces mounting financial pressures. Nissan has raised $4.5 billion through a mix of U.S. dollar and euro bonds to help pay down its existing debt.
The company raised $3 billion from dollar-denominated bonds and an additional €1.3 billion (approximately $1.52 billion) from euro-denominated bonds, with repayment terms ranging from four to 10 years. The interest rates on the bonds fall between 7.5% and 8.125%, according to a document seen by Reuters.
The move comes as Nissan faces a substantial debt load of approximately 700 billion yen ($4.76 billion) due this fiscal year and continues to hold junk credit ratings from all three major agencies. It has also asked some suppliers to delay payments, according to a Reuters report.
Meanwhile, the company has delayed the launch of two U.S.-bound electric SUVs, now expected to arrive in late 2028 or early 2029, and suspended vehicle shipments to Canada following the implementation of a new 25% auto export tariff.
Two EV models have been removed from its U.S. lineup, and its battery partner AESC has paused construction of a planned South Carolina factory.
Nissan is set to report its first-quarter financial results on Wednesday. On Stocktwits, retail sentiment for Nissan Motor was ‘neutral’ amid ‘normal’ message volume.
Nissan’s U.S. shares have declined 27.6% so far in 2025.
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