GWM has stepped to take over operations at one of Nissan’s Spanish plants which is due to cease operations by the end of this year. National and regional authorities, together with Nissan, also identified Spanish electric motorcycle manufacturer Silence and local engineering firm QEV Technologies to negotiate the plan of the two smaller plants.
As reported by Automotive News Europe, an unnamed source indicated that GWM is interested in the Barcelona plant and will study whether it might have use for the other two, while Silence and QEV Technologies are only interested in the smaller factories.
“We are convinced we will be able to find solutions that are beneficial to everyone,” Nissan’s industrial head in Spain, Frank Torres, said in a statement.
The decision to shut down these plants came from Nissan as part of a drastic global restructuring plan. It initially said the plants would close by December 2020 but later pushed the date back a year, as it started looking for an alternative industrial project with authorities.
GWM has not made public its plan for the factories, but a source with knowledge of the talks said it could keep around 1 300 jobs. A project presented by Belgian powertrain producer Punch for Nissan’s plants has been excluded of the upcoming negotiations, although officials said it is not completely ruled out for certain.
Notable models assembled at this plant include the NV, which is due to be replaced by the Townstar, as well as the Primstar commercial van. The Navara, now built in SA, was also produced at the plant.