This Is The Latest Nissan Factory To Bite The Dust
Nissan will close down its CIVAC plant in Cuernavaca, Mexico, and shift all of the production to its other site in Aguascalientes
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by Brad Anderson
The CIVAC Plant in Cuernavaca, Mexico, was opened in 1966 and has been expanded since.
In 2019, the factory built its six millionth car and currently makes the Versa and Frontier.
Nissan is cutting global production capacity from 3.5 million to 2.5 million vehicles.
Things are changing at Nissan. Not long after the brand confirmed that seven of its global factories would be closed, it announced that one of them is the CIVAC Plant in Cuernavaca, Mexico. This is the oldest-operating Nissan factory outside of Japan and has been in continual operation since 1966. In March 2026, however, production will cease for good.
The plant first started manufacturing the Datsun Bluebird in 1966 on a single line. In 1975, a second line was added to the site and it started to build pickup trucks, starting with the 720. Three years later, an engine plant at the site started operations.
Read: Nissan’s Radical Overhaul Will Slash Platforms And Speed Up Development
In 1988, Nissan was the number one best-selling brand in the country and the plant celebrated its one millionth vehicle milestone. In 1993, it started building Nissan Tsubame models that were exported to Japan, and in 2000, the three millionth car built at the site rolled off the line. Production has continued to soar since then, and in 2019, it passed the six-million-unit mark.
Currently, the plant handles production of the Nissan Versa, Frontier, and NP300/Navara. Nissan says it will consolidate production to its Aguascalientes Plant over the coming year before ceasing operations at the CIVAC Plant.
Nissan’s Plans
“For over 60 years, Nissan Mexicana has built a strong and trusted relationship with its stakeholders in Mexico, earning global recognition as one of the company’s flagship operations,” Nissan chief executive Ivan Espinosa said. “Today, we have made the difficult but necessary decision, that will allow us to become more efficient, more competitive, and more sustainable. Throughout this transition, we remain deeply appreciative of the invaluable contributions made by our collaborators at the CIVAC Plant.”
Through the Re:Nissan plant, the carmaker is looking to slash its global production capacity from 3.5 million vehicles to 2.5 million, closing plants and boosting utilization rates to around 100 percent at those sites it keeps open.
