Report: Nissan, Foxconn in talks on building EVs in Japan

Deal could save Nissan’s Oppama plant from closure

Nissan continues to navigate through turbulent waters as it tries to stay afloat with its recent financial struggles.

Recently, the troubled carmaker was looking to reduce its ownership stake in its alliance partner Renault to free up funding for car development. And now, it looks like Nissan is back to talking stage with Taiwan’s Foxconn in building electric vehicles.

According to Nikkei Asia, Foxconn could use Nissan’s Oppama plant in Japan to produce electric vehicles and save the plant from closure. The Oppama plant is located in Yokosuka at Japan’s Kanagawa prefecture, where it occupies 170 hectares of land that houses crash testing courses, a research center, and docking facilities for car carriers.

Nissan Oppama plant proving ground

The Oppama plant is capable of producing 240,000 vehicles annually. But with utilization rate dropping to 40% last year, Nissan hasn’t been reaching the level required for the plant to be profitable. Should this Foxconn collaboration materialize, it mitigates the impact of restructuring on the Oppama plant that has about 3,900 employees and suppliers.

Likewise, it saves Nissan the high cost of severance and relocation. Not to mention, the closure could also cripple Nissan’s development capabilities and affect its new product rollouts.

Foxconn has previously expressed interest in working with Nissan, especially during the time when the Japanese carmaker was in talks with Honda for a possible merger. But with that failing to materialize, Foxconn has then gone on to sign an MOU with Mitsubishi and reportedly with Fuso for the supply of passenger EVs and electric buses.