Nissan is negotiating with Dongfeng to sell its European factories.

Dongfeng has been Nissan's strategic partner in China for several years now, and through this collaboration agreement, Nissan has produced highly successful electric vehicles in the Asian giant. This is the case with the new N7, an electric sedan with over 600 kilometers of range and a price of €24,000. It is already a sales success in China, with over 10,000 units sold during the vehicle's first few months on the market and already boasting a long waiting list of interested customers.

This unexpected success in China could be a lifeline for Nissan, a historic manufacturer that now makes A few weeks ago he announced thousands of layoffs (some sources put the final figure at over 20,000 people) and the closure of seven factories worldwide, although without specifying which ones. Nissan's new CEO, Mexican Ivan Espinosa—who replaces Japanese Makoto Uchida, the man largely responsible for the failure of the merger negotiations with Honda—believes that the alliance with Dongfeng could become strategic for the brand's future worldwide.

For several months now, Dongfeng has been trying to enter the Old Continent through some of its brands, such as Voyah, MHero, and its own Dongfeng brand. However, so far, commercial results have been very modest. The collaboration and growth agreement between Nissan and Dongfeng would involve the transfer of some of Nissan's factories to Europe to manufacture Dongfeng cars, which would allow them to avoid tariffs and take advantage of Nissan's extensive supplier and distribution network in Europe in exchange for technological and financial support (in the form of a joint venture).

If this operation goes through, it would become a real win-win between Dongfeng and Nissan, but also for the thousands of workers of the brand and the network of suppliers of the European factories, and would open the door to future agreements and collaboration agreements between Nissan and its partner in China at a global level. Without going any further, the Reopening of the historic Santana in Linares (Jaén) owes its logic to the landing of Dongfeng subsidiary brands in Europe, and the pickup truck or pickup which will be used to manufacture part of the base of the Chinese version of the Nissan Frontier, for which Dongfeng has the production and exploitation rights.

Awaiting the electrical offensive

Nissan's future in Europe—and thousands of jobs—lies with the new Leaf and Micra, two fully electric models expected to be unveiled in the coming months. They leverage synergies and shared platforms with Renault, Nissan's major commercial and industrial partner until now. If the strategic alliance with Dongfeng is also implemented in Europe, it would open the door to new electric models that leverage technologies and engines from China.