At the company’s Zona Franca plant near Barcelona, the final Nissan Navara pickup has left the assembly line.
With the launch of the Nissan Patrol in 1983, Nissan began producing goods in Barcelona. Since then, the company has produced more than 15 distinct models and 3,345,000 automobiles.
According to Frank Torres, manager of Nissan’s industrial operations in Spain, “the teams at Zona Franca, Montcada I Reixac, and Sant Andreu de la Barca have played a key role in Nissan’s history, developing products that have been appreciated by customers throughout the world.”
We remain committed to reaching an agreement on the reindustrialization of Nissan’s Barcelona plants that will provide a reliable alternative for the employees at these sites. “On behalf of Nissan, we extend a big thank you to all the workers at the three plants for their contribution to the company over such a long time.
The Nissan Patrol was the first Japanese automobile made in Europe; 196,000 of the SUVs were produced over a period of 18 years, ending in 2001. The first Navara pickup and Pathfinder SUV replaced the smaller Terrano SUV on the assembly line in 2005. Both vehicles stayed there until the NP300, the newest Navara generation, took their position in 2015.
The factory furthermore built the Primastar van from 2002 to 2014 and the NV200 van starting in 2009. Five years later, the electric e-NV200 van and the Pulsar family hatchback were released.
Through 2019 and 2020, Barcelona’s factory’s output rapidly decreased; at one point, only 40 trucks per day were leaving the assembly line. As sales fell, there were fewer orders to fill due to a lack of demand, which resulted in the factory only functioning at around half of its daily capacity of 500 units.
Due to the fact that both the Renault Alaskan and Mercedes-Benz X-Class are based on the Navara’s architecture, their respective cancellations and reduced European sales had an impact on Nissan’s demand for production.
The Samut Prakan, Thailand plant’s substantially modified Navara pickup has been introduced in other markets, but it won’t be available in Europe. However, a completely new Navara based on the next-generation Mitsubishi L200 chassis is anticipated in 2025, and while it seems improbable, there is still a chance that this vehicle could be offered in the UK and other parts of Europe.
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Navara, Nissan
Nissan pickup vehicles with the D21, D22, D40, and D23 model numbers go by the nameplate “Navara.” The nameplate has been used in South Africa, Australia, New Zealand, Central America, and South America. It is marketed as the Nissan Frontier or Nissan NP300 in North, Central, and South America as well as a few other areas.
Nissan presented the D22, which is the same size as the D21, after more than ten years. The larger, taller, and longer D40 mid-size truck took its place. Nissan introduced its replacement, the D23, in 2014 for markets outside of North America and Europe. In 2021, it acquired the D41 Frontier to take the place of the D40 for these markets.
The Navara is named after the northern Spanish region of Navarre. The Nissan factory in Barcelona produces the European model.
The pickup’s manufacturing facility in Barcelona will be shut down by the carmaker.
Nissan announced that it will not replace its Navara pickup in Europe when it closes the Barcelona factory that produces the model later this year, blaming the declining pickup market.
The business stated in an email that “sales of the current-generation Nissan Navara for European markets will terminate in the course of 2022” once the Barcelona facility closes in December 2021. This is a reflection of the diminishing pickup market in Europe and the shift many customers are making to our selection of cutting-edge vans.
Nissan has the option to import the Navara for use in Europe from its Thailand-based facility, which also produces the vehicle for sale to countries such as Australia. A facelifted version of the Thai-built model introduced last year would not be imported, Nissan’s European unit has already made that decision.
The choice signals the end of a vehicle that assisted in revolutionizing the pickup industry in Europe. The second-generation Nissan Navara, which debuted in 2005, played a significant role in transforming pickup trucks from a specialized market of workhorse automobiles to one with broader appeal and dominated by off-road, five-seat double-cab models that could double as a family vehicle on the weekends.
Nissan expanded passenger room and introduced upmarket equipment like satellite navigation, climate control, and leather seats on top-end models, improving pickups that were previously offered in Europe. The SUV, the Pathfinder, which was also available in Europe, served as the model’s foundation.
The second-generation Nissan Navara was a hit, and Nissan routinely competed with Mitsubishi, which sold the most units in Europe, for sales supremacy.
With the introduction of the current-generation Navara in 2014, the same “lifestyle” formula was revised, but this time Nissan collaborated with alliance partners Renault and Mercedes-Benz to expand the scope of its European production facilities.
Nissan began producing the Renault Alaskan and Mercedes X-Class based on the Navara in 2017 at the Barcelona facility, but weak sales for both automobiles crushed hopes that the models could expand the pickup market in Europe.
Volkswagen will be able to restore the Amarok truck to the European market next year thanks to Ford’s agreement to construct a variant of its new Ranger pickup for the automaker.
Nissan shifts production of its light commercial utility vehicles to Mitsubishi Motors’ Thailand plant as production demands rise in South East Asia.
Nissan’s Thai facility is now at capacity due to rising demand for its automobiles in Australia, China, and South East Asia.
Nissan will move the manufacture of its Thai-built Navara to Mitsubishi’s Laem Chabang (Thailand) facility as a result and in accordance with its agreement with Mitsubishi from 2010. Beginning in 2012, the larger factory will manufacture the majority of Nissan’s Navara models.
Maxima manufacturing has already moved back to Japan as Nissan’s Thai facility struggles to keep up with demand. Nissan now manufactures the Navara D22 and D40 vehicles in Thailand, in addition to a few passenger variants.
According to Nissan, the new production deal is anticipated to increase both companies’ competitiveness.
The production of the Navara D40 has gradually moved from Spain to Thailand over the past 12 months, while the D40 ST-X 500 will continue to be made in Spain for the time being.
What more models would Nissan source from either its own Thai factory or perhaps Mitsubishi’s as it increases the number of light commercial vehicles it produces in Thailand? The platform-sharing Pathfinder, which is now produced in Spain, is of particular relevance.
Fisher responded, “Never say never.” Although Thailand is now a significant manufacturing source for us, the Pathfinder will continue to be imported from Spain for the time being.
Nissan already produces a small number of passenger vehicles in Thailand, and many of them are becoming more and more well-liked, particularly in the burgeoning Chinese market. Will any further Nissan models come off the Mitsubishi line given the rising demand?
“We mostly obtained [Navara] D40 out of Thailand because we already receive Micra [from Thailand] and we had Maxima [sourced from] there for a while, but we shifted it (Maxima) back to Japan because the strain on our Thai plant was mounting.
“To support our operation in Dong Feng, we are doing a lot of business in South East Asia, with part of the export still going to China. They still need more cars there, despite the capacity of 450,000 every year.
The main reason was that Nissan Thailand at the time needed Mitsubishi’s assistance. Last year, we announced the agreement, and the facility is already producing automobiles for Nissan to export to China.
What will happen when the partnership develops in terms of shared production methods, drivetrains, or style with Navara being made by Mitsubishi?
Other media outlets have speculated that the two vehicles will look more alike, but that is incorrect. At least during the transitional period, the integrity of the vehicle will remain separate, Fisher said. “In terms of integrity of the Navara, there are no plans to make any major technical changes to commonize it [Navara] to Triton.
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Africans built the Navara for Africans.
This month, the first Nissan Navara trucks made in Africa left the assembly line at the brand-new Nissan facility in Rosslyn, Pretoria.
By pledging R3 billion to President Cyril Ramaphosa’s “Thuma Mina” call to rebuild South Africa in April 2019, Nissan South Africa had the honor of responding on behalf of Nissan. The company’s investment in its Rosslyn, Pretoria facility will set up the factory for the production of the Nissan Navara pickup’s next generation.
The strategy is supported by the intention to introduce many new models, including the Navara, over the course of 18 months. The first Navara vehicles have entered the market as of this month, and the Rosslyn facility anticipates increasing production to over 35,000 vehicles in the first year by the end of June 2022.
According to Nissan South Africa Rosslyn Manufacturing Plant director Shafick Solomons, “[This initial announcement by the President] aligned to the company’s global transformation plan, ‘Nissan Next,’ which lays the foundation for sustainable, long-term growth by rationalizing structure, costs, and efficiencies, and prioritizing on core products and technologies.
The Nissan team has been working relentlessly to bring the Nissan Navara to life in South Africa since that 2019 announcement, despite difficulties brought on by the Covid-19 pandemic, he claims.
The Rosslyn plant was further modernized as a result of the investment in Navara production, adding a new, flexible production line and more facilities.
According to him, more than a third of our suppliers are currently black-owned businesses. “Over the past two years, in partnership with the Automotive Industry Development Council, we have incubated eight new component manufacturers as part of our broad-based black economic empowerment start-up programmes,” he says.
According to Solomons, the first vehicle to leave the assembly line is the result of a prolonged period of upskilling and training South African employees to meet and surpass Nissan’s strict global quality standards, while also establishing Rosslyn as the Japanese automaker’s light commercial vehicle manufacturing hub for Africa.
Of the R3 billion, over R190 million was spent on employee training and reskilling. The production trial engineers, who spent three months receiving virtual training from Nissan Japan on applying the new model in South Africa, are one example of this expenditure.
Twelve-week training at Nissan’s Rosslyn plant to learn how to build the Nissan Navara was finished by 12 Ghanaian engineers last month. Nissan and long-time partner Japan Motors are in the process of establishing an assembly factory in Ghana as the nation strives to expand its automobile manufacturing operations. In order to guarantee that the facility will meet international standards while being operated entirely by Ghanaians, the trainees received extensive training in design thinking in manufacturing, Nissan’s Production Way, quality assurance, and other topics.
With the Navara, NissanSouth Africa country director Kabelo Rabotho continues, “We understand that our organization’s growth is closely tied to that of the community we operate in and we expect to continue to redefine the light commercial vehicle segment while positively contributing to the African economy.”
“We’ve built manufacturing or assembly center businesses in South Africa, Egypt, Ghana, and Nigeria as part of how we’ve organized our strategy in part around this.”
The new-vehicle industry is reviving, according to the most recent local data from naamsa | The Automotive Business Council, which was released in June 2021.
Therefore, despite shifting lockdown levels and the advent of the third wave of Covid-19, the industry is expanding. According to him, the industry’s response to critical digital innovation needs and the strengthening economy are what are driving this momentum.
Nissan Navaras for Australia are produced where?
Nissan’s Navara ute will no longer be produced in Europe starting in 2019 as a result of the closure of its Barcelona, Spain, manufacturing site; nevertheless, the second-best-selling vehicle will still be available in Australia for the foreseeable future.
The one-tonne pickup is a product of Thailand, which, according to a spokeswoman, “has a long-term commitment to develop the new Navara for numerous markets including Australia and Thailand — along with other Nissan goods for both domestic and export markets.”
“The Navara is a critically important vehicle for Nissan in Australia, and we are dedicated to ensuring that it continues to be successful for both our customers and dealers.”