As Nissan looks to cut its global production capacity by a fifth in a new three-year plan, a number of reports say its Spanish manufacturing plant at Barcelona will be shuttered.
The Nikkei news agency reports that the plant’s production will be shifted to Alliance partner Renault plants.
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The report also suggests that the Alliance partners are also examining whether to extend their increase in shared production to other sites in Europe as well as to South America.
While the Alliance between Renault and Nissan has seen tensions over the past few years, culminating in the arrest and its aftermath of Carlos Ghosn, the current industry crisis has reportedly brought the two closer together as they look for cost savings and competitive strengths.
The Nissan plant has been working at 20% of its productive capacity (capacity is 120,000 units pa) and seen industrial action from labour unions in recent months. It makes the Navara pickup, Renault Alaskan, Nissan NV200 van and X-Class for Mercedes-Benz.
As part of the cost-cutting drive, Nissan and Renault are aiming for 70% common parts that will go into their vehicles, up from about 40% now. The automakers will also ramp up efforts to adopt common vehicle platforms, reports say.
