Taiwan’s Foxconn is in negotiations with Nissan Motor from Japan, hoping to produce electric vehicles at a plant in Japan facing closure.
According to reports cited by Nikkei News, the potential collaboration between Foxconn and Nissan involves Nissan’s Oppama plant in Yokosuka City, Kanagawa Prefecture, located in southern Tokyo.
Nissan is undergoing a large-scale restructuring. The automaker announced in May its plan to reduce the number of its assembly plants globally from 17 to 10. Among the five plants planned for closure within Japan is the Oppama plant.
Foxconn, also known as Hon Hai Precision Industry, aims to produce its own electric vehicles at the Oppama plant, while Nissan seeks to increase the plant’s utilization by allocating surplus production lines to this iPhone contract manufacturer.
Recently, Foxconn has been expanding its electric vehicle-related production business rapidly by establishing joint ventures overseas.
In 2024, the Taiwanese manufacturer acquired 50% stake in ZF Friedrichshafen AG, a German automotive components giant. The joint venture with Nissan is also considering utilizing the Oppama plant.
In May this year, Foxconn signed a memorandum of understanding to supply passenger electric vehicles to Mitsubishi Motors. The Taiwan-based company also plans to supply electric buses to Mitsubishi Fuso Truck and Bus. Using the Oppama plant as a manufacturing base could help Foxconn establish relationships with Japanese automakers.
The Oppama plant has been operating since 1961 and is one of Nissan’s major plants. Its annual production capacity totals 240,000 vehicles, but due to soft sales by the automaker, the utilization rate is low.
The 170-hectare Oppama plant includes essential testing grounds and collision test courses. It also features a research center and a pier for car transport ships to dock.
The closure of the plant will force Nissan to build new testing grounds and facilities elsewhere, potentially harming the development of new vehicle models. Collaboration with Foxconn may enable Nissan to protect the plant and its employees while reducing costs.