Thailand will take over from the US as Nissan Motor’s main production hub for pick-up trucks, according to a report in The Nation which cited chief operating officer Toshiyuki Shiga.


Shiga said the carmaker was concerned over dramatically falling vehicle sales in the US and said that Thailand “will be our main production centre for exports to ASEAN countries, the Middle East, and Australia.”


Currently Thailand is Nissan’s second-largest production base for pick-up trucks after the US. Nissan Motor (Thailand) has annual production capacity of 120,000 trucks but has been operating at just 50% of capacity this year due to plunging exports and weak domestic demand.