Coronavirus: Nissan to slash May car output in Japan by 78%

Due to the impact of the coronavirus, Nissan has announced plans to reduce the number of vehices it will produce in Japan next month by a massive 78 per cent from last year.

Nissan has already been troubled with falling sales as global automakers reel from the implications caused by the spread of COVID-19.

Nissan will make 13,400 vehicles in May – but in the same month last year it made nearly 61,000 units.

The cut represents a big hit to Nissan’s plant in Kyushu, southern Japan, which the automaker plans to operate on a single shift for much of this month and all of next month.

In June, domestic production will be cut to 33,700 vehicles, a drop from around 63,700 units last year, and down 43 per cent from a previous plan for around 59,300.

The automaker has stopped production at its plant in Tochigi, north of Tokyo, since early April, and plans to keep output suspended through the end of May.