Nissan closing assembly plant

Nissan Philippines Inc. (NPI) is halting assembly operations for the Almera sedan in its Laguna plant by March in line with a global plan to optimize operations in Southeast Asia.

In a letter dated Jan.20 to Trade Secretary Ramon Lopez, NPI president and managing director Atsushi Najima said the company “made the decision to cease production operations for the Nissan Almera at the Santa Rosa plant effective March 2021.”

The decision was made following the expiration of the assembly contract between NPI and vehicle assembly partner Univation Motor Philippines Inc.

The move is also aligned with the firm’s plan to optimize production and operations in Southeast Asia.

In a statement yesterday, Trade Secretary Ramon Lopez said the DTI was informed by NPI last Wednesday of the plan to close the plant, which would affect 133 workers.

The DTI said the move did not come as a surprise as the firm hinted it already planned on closing last year given Almera’s weak sales and low market share.

With sales of around 4,500 units, the Almera represents about one percent of the total local vehicle market.

NPI introduced the Almera in the country in 2011.

Now on its third generation, the Almera has overextended its model life cycle.

“They have in effect extended their stay. Their major sales come from imported pick-ups and sports utility vehicles,” the DTI said.

The DTI said the affected workers would be given reasonable compensation packages.

In addition, the DTI will be working with the Department of Labor and Employment in providing manufacturing jobs to the displaced workers.

While assembly operations would be shut down, the firm’s marketing and distribution network would continue with the vehicles to be imported from Thailand and Japan.

“The stoppage of Almera’s assembly operations, following closely that of Honda and Isuzu, only highlights that the local auto assembly industry is critically impacted by the surge in imports and will thus benefit from the time-bound safeguard duty,” Lopez said.

The DTI has imposed a provisional safeguard duty amounting to P70,000 for passenger car imports and P110,000 for light commercial vehicles (LCVs) from overseas as it found higher automobile