Nissan’s production restructuring
Nissan to close Mexico plant as part of global manufacturing realignment
Nissan is shutting its Cuernavaca plant to streamline operations under its global Re:Nissan plan with production shifting to Aguascalientes and interest from Chinese OEMs in the facility’s future.
As part of a global restructuring under its “Re:Nissan recovery plan”, Nissan has confirmed it will close its CIVAC Plant in Cuernavaca, Morelos, by the end of fiscal year 2025. Production will be fully transferred to the Aguascalientes facility, consolidating manufacturing operations in a move aimed at increasing efficiency and reducing structural costs. The decision supports key targets outlined in the Re:Nissan plan, including reducing global production capacity from 3.5m to 2.5m units (excluding China), improving plant utilisation rates toward 100%, and consolidating Nissan’s manufacturing footprint from 17 to 10 facilities worldwide by fiscal year 2027.
“Today, we have made the difficult but necessary decision, that will allow us to become more efficient, more competitive and more sustainable,” said Ivan Espinosa, CEO of Nissan Motor Corporation.
Operational shift
The CIVAC Plant, which accounted for 11% of Nissan’s total production in Mexico, had been in continuous operation for over fifty years and is the carmaker's oldest plant outside Japan. Over its lifetime, the plant has produced more than 6.5 million vehicles, including current models such as the NP300, Versa, and Frontier and Navara pickups. The plant’s Line 1 had closed but reopened in 2023 to provide additional production capacity. Despite this, Nissan cited the facility’s outdated infrastructure and low utilisation rates as key factors in the decision to shutter the site. Nissan has confirmed that these models will continue to be assembled at the Aguascalientes complex following the closure. Consolidating all Mexican production at the Aguascalientes hub is expected to increase operational efficiency and achieve greater economies of scale.
Global Manufacturing Realignment
The closure of the CIVAC plant is part of a broader global restructuring of Nissan’s manufacturing footprint. CIVAC will be the third overseas assembly plant Nissan has decided to close, following earlier announcements of factory shutdowns in Argentina and India. Nissan’s Córdoba, Argentina plant – which produced pickup models – is also set to close by January 2026.
In Japan, Nissan will cease production at its Oppama plant by fiscal year 2027 (shifting output to Kyushu) and will also close the Nissan Shatai Shonan plant in Kanagawa. It has also confirmed that it would close a factory in Wuhan, China amid a slump in its Chinese vehicle sales. All of these actions are aimed at addressing overcapacity and restoring Nissan’s profitability under the Re:Nissan plan.
Nissan’s cost-cutting plan includes reducing its global workforce by roughly 20,000 jobs (around 15% of its employees) by 2027. While the company has not disclosed layoffs specific to the CIVAC closure, reports indicate that around 2,400 jobs will be affected at the Cuernavaca plant.
Another Nissan facility in Mexico – the COMPAS joint venture plant in Aguascalientes (run with Mercedes-Benz) – is also facing an uncertain future. Production of Infiniti QX50 and QX55 models and the Mercedes-Benz GLB at COMPAS will end between late 2024 and early 2026, but Nissan has not confirmed whether the factory itself will continue operating afterward.
Nissan has emphasised that the Re:Nissan recovery strategy is focused on resolving excess capacity and improving efficiency amid intense competition and trade uncertainties (such as new U.S. tariffs on imported vehicles). Meanwhile, the fate of the CIVAC site itself has drawn outside interest: industry reports indicate that Chinese automakers BYD and SAIC have expressed interest in acquiring the Cuernavaca facility to establish a production foothold in North America, although no official agreements have been announced.
