Nissan restructures toward 1 million units of annual Japanese production | Skyline launch, Serena and Elgrand to move to Tochigi

Nissan has outlined plans to rebuild its Japan operations, strengthening their competitiveness by transferring production between plants while specializing their respective roles. With a long-term target of raising domestic production to approximately 1 million units annually, the company cited the launch of the Skyline, Patrol and new global B-segment vehicles.

At the Tochigi Plant, the First Plant will continue producing the Fairlady Z and Skyline, while the Second Plant will be responsible for producing models including minivans. At the same time, the First Plant of Nissan Motor Kyushu will be expanded as a global core base for B- and C-segment vehicles, and production of the Serena and Elgrand is planned to change from Nissan Motor Kyushu to the Tochigi Plant over the medium term.

Nissan Shatai Kyushu will be responsible for models including the Patrol and will be reorganized as a specialized base focused on body-on-frame vehicles and compact commercial vehicles. Following the end of production and the transfer of operations from the Oppama Plant, the company will also prioritize expanding exports from Japan, emphasizing a policy of optimizing production through a combination of domestic sales and exports.

The announcement appears to give concrete form to a long-term strategy centered on a “Product Family Strategy” that uses Japan as an export base while balancing fixed-cost reductions with higher production efficiency and an expanded product lineup. However, the timing and detailed figures for achieving annual production of 1 million units have not been finalized, and attention will focus on progress going forward.