Nissan says it’s here to stay. But to do that, the company has made tough decisions to make that happen. Earlier this year, the embattled Japanese automaker has announced the shutdown and consolidation of several key assembly lines, along with the cutting of about 20,000 jobs worldwide.
One of the major assembly hubs affected by the move is the assembly line in Thailand. While it won’t be shut down per se, there will be major consolidation to streamline operations in a bid to boost cost-competitiveness.
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The assembly of most Nissan vehicles for a majority of Southeast Asian and Oceania markets are sourced from Thailand. Prior to the announcement, the lines were split into two facilities, one for passenger cars such as the Almera and Kicks, and another for commercial vehicles such as the Navara and Terra. But starting third quarter this year (or financial year Q2), all will be built under just one roof.
“Nissan continues its commitment to grow its presence in Thailand and ASEAN. One of our strategic actions this year is upgrading our production lines at Nissan Thailand's plants to be more cost-competitive and ready for future model localization. This key action prepares us to continue delivering exciting Thai-made vehicles for our valued customers in Thailand and other export destinations,” said Toshihiro Fujiki, president of Nissan Thailand and ASEAN.
With that, the Nissan Motor Thailand Plant Line #1 located in the Samut Prakan province has begun overhauling operations to accommodate the potentially increase production. As mentioned, the line integration will be completed later this year, and several more new models are expected to be assembled there.
