TOKYO (Reuters) -Nissan Motor has revised down its production plan for the new model of its Leaf electric vehicle by more than half for September-November due to delays in battery procurement, the Nikkei business daily said on Tuesday.
Lower-than-expected battery yields at a Nissan affiliate had caused the revision, the Nikkei said, adding that the Japanese automaker planned to release the new EV model by the end of the year.
The newspaper did not specify the original or revised production targets but said the output plan has been cut by up to several thousand vehicles a month at its Tochigi plant, eastern Japan, which makes the new version of the Leaf for the U.S. and Japanese markets.
A Nissan spokesperson did not respond immediately to a request for comment.
Nissan, which has gone from mass-market EV pioneer to laggard since its first model entered showrooms in 2010, is betting on the new version of its Leaf model to revive its fortunes.
This is not the first time Nissan’s EV production has hit a snag.
In 2023, another of Nissan’s electric vehicles, the Ariya, was hampered by problems at its high-tech production line at the Tochigi plant, Reuters reported at the time.
Shares in Nissan closed down 0.4% ahead of the Nikkei report, underperforming the benchmark Nikkei average, which rose 0.3%.
(Reporting by Kiyoshi Takenaka, Daniel Leussink and Satoshi Sugiyama; Editing by Alex Richardson)
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