Nissan Qashqai production in Sunderland

LONDON -- Nissan’s U.K. factory will not be included in the automaker’s plan to close seven plants globally as part of CEO Ivan Espinosa’s accelerated cost-cutting drive.

Nissan aims to reduce its global production base to 10 assembly plants from 17 after the company booked a $4.5 billion net loss for the fiscal year ended March 31 on massive restructuring charges.

Espinosa said Nissan’s plant in Sunderland, England will continue as the automaker’s sole manufacturing facility in Europe.

“In Europe, we will strengthen our presence by assembling more electrified models in Sunderland,” Espinosa said as he outlined a new turnaround plan called Re:Nissan during an earnings call on May 13.

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The Sunderland plant employs about 6,000 people and builds the Qashqai compact SUV and Juke small SUV, mainly for sale in Europe.

Nissan has spent £2 billion upgrading the facility to build the new generation Leaf battery-electric car this year, along with other electric models including a replacement for the Juke small SUV.

Nissan Europe worst performing region with $668M loss

Nissan’s European operations lost €599 million ($668 million) in the financial year to March 31 because of lower vehicles sales and increased incentives, company figures showed. Europe was Nissan’s worst performing region.

Nissan has cut back operations in Europe in recent years in a bid to improve profitability. The automaker shut its plant in Barcelona, Spain in 2021.

To boost its European business, Espinosa said Nissan will continue to utilize its partnership with Renault in Europe, as well as import models developed with its Chinese joint venture with Dongfeng.

Renault’s projects for Nissan include the Micra small car, which is based on the Renault 5 and will go on sale this year. Nissan will also sell a version of the Renault Twingo small EV due in 2026.Nissan hopes new models will help boost Europe sales. Shown from left are the next-generation Juke, Leaf and Micra. All three models will be full-electric.

Imported Chinese models are expected to include the Nissan-Dongfeng Frontier Pro plug-in hybrid pickup that would replace the discontinued Navara pickup.

The British government said on May 12 that it had helped secured a 1-billion-pound ($1.33 billion) funding deal that would allow Nissan battery supplier AESC to complete a gigafactory in Sunderland to supply the automaker’s vehicle assembly plant.

Ghosn’s growth plan blamed for Nissan’s problems

Espinosa said that Nissan would cut 19,000 jobs globally as he looks to make the automaker sustainably profitable amid lower sales and hits from tariffs.

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Of the job cuts, 65 percent will come from global plant closures with 17 percent from research and development and the rest from sales, general and administrative expenses.

“Our fixed cost structure is something that we cannot absorb with the current revenue,” Espinosa said.

He blamed Nissan’s growth plan under Carlos Ghosn in 2015 and 2016 that envisaged annual vehicle sales of around 8 million globally for Nissan and Renault.

“We are facing the reality of being much smaller than that,” Espinosa said.

Nissan’s global vehicle sales fell 2.8 percent to 3.3 million cars in the fiscal year to March 31.

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