(Yicai) April 30 -- Dongfeng Nissan has denied a media report that said the joint venture of Chinese carmaker Dongfeng Motor and Japan’s Nissan Motor plans to close its factory in Wuhan.

The Wuhan plant is running normally and will not be shut down, Dongfeng Nissan told Yicai yesterday, refuting a Reuters article that said Nissan wants to end vehicle production at the site by March 31 next year.

The Wuhan-based JV will continue to develop steadily with the support of both its parent companies, accelerating its transition toward new energy vehicles and intelligent technologies to better meet customer needs, it added.

Founded in 2003, Dongfeng Nissan manages the Nissan, Venucia, and Infiniti brands in China. It has an annual production capacity of 1.6 million units.

The Wuhan factory was built between 2019 and January 2021. Production kicked off in May 2022. It has flexible manufacturing capabilities for multiple vehicle types, including internal combustion engine, hybrid electric, and pure electric vehicles, with an annual output capacity of 300,000. The plant produces models such as the X-Trail, X-Trail e-Power, and ARIYA.

Based on Dongfeng Nissan's NEV sales, the Wuhan plant has a capacity utilization rate of less than 10 percent of its planned capacity. Last June, it reportedly started making cars for Dongfeng's high-end NEV brand Voyah.

In the first quarter of this year, Nissan's sales in China plunged 27 percent to 121,335 from a year earlier. During the ongoing Shanghai Auto Show, the carmaker said it will leverage China's advantages in new energy and intelligent technologies to speed up product releases.

Dongfeng Nissan plans to invest CNY10 billion (USD1.4 billion) over the next three years and expand its research and development department to about 4,000 staff from 1,600 while cutting the product development cycle to 24 months.

By summer 2027, Dongfeng Nissan intends to swell its NEV lineup to 10 models from eight. The N7 and Frontier Pro plug-in hybrid that the JV showcased at the auto show will be exported globally.

Editor: Futura Costaglione