Tokyo (Japan), July 15 (LaPresse) – Nissan will close its flagship plant in Oppama, Japan, to reduce costs and will transfer all production to another plant in the southwest of the country. Vehicle production at the Oppama plant, located in Kanagawa Prefecture south of Tokyo, will end at the close of the 2027 fiscal year, in March 2028, the Japanese automaker said Tuesday in a statement. Subsequently, all models currently produced or planned at the Oppama plant will be manufactured at the Nissan Motor Kyushu plant in Fukuoka Prefecture. The Oppama plant has been an important symbol for Nissan Motor Corp., which in 2010 launched its electric Leaf car there, beating major competitors to market. The plant’s closure was expected, as the manufacturer of luxury Infiniti models and the compact March has repeatedly stated its intention to restructure operations to improve profitability, including through consolidating production sites. Nissan, headquartered in the port city of Yokohama, says that tariff policies under President Donald Trump have hurt its profits. Earlier this year, Nissan announced it would cut about 15% of its global workforce, around 20,000 employees, including a reduction of 9,000 announced late last year, also in China. The company has accumulated losses due to declining vehicle sales in China and other countries, high restructuring costs, and increasing inventory levels.