If you’re looking for a single headline to sum up Nissan’s November 2025 performance, try this: The world is carrying Nissan, but Japan is dragging its heels.
Nissan Motor Co. released its latest production, sales, and export figures for November, and the data paints a picture of a company operating in two very different realities. Overseas factories are humming along well enough to keep global production nearly level, while domestic output and sales continue to slide at a worrying pace.
Production: Japan Hits the Brakes
Globally, Nissan built 257,008 vehicles in November, a 4.2-percent decline compared with last year. That’s not catastrophic, but it masks a sharp regional imbalance.
Production in Japan plunged 31.6 percent year-over-year, falling to just 41,874 vehicles. Passenger cars took the hardest hit, down more than 30 percent, while commercial vehicles weren’t spared either. For a company whose engineering identity is deeply rooted in its home market, that’s a sobering number.
Outside Japan, however, the story improves. Overseas production rose 3.9 percent to 215,134 vehicles, with China (+22 percent), the UK (+18 percent), and the U.S. (+7.1 percent) all posting solid gains. Mexico remained Nissan’s single largest production hub, despite a 17.6-percent drop for the month.
The takeaway? Nissan’s global footprint is doing exactly what it was designed to do—absorb shocks when one region falters—but the weakness at home is too large to ignore.
Sales: Japan Slumps, China Pushes Back
Sales followed a similar pattern. Global deliveries totaled 265,067 vehicles in November, down 4.9 percent from a year earlier.
Japan was again the problem child. Total domestic sales, including minivehicles, dropped 26.5 percent. Registered passenger vehicles fell off a cliff, plunging nearly 40 percent year-over-year, while minivehicles—a segment usually prized for stability—still slipped by 4.6 percent.
Across the Pacific, Nissan’s performance was steadier. North American sales declined 5.6 percent overall, with the U.S. down 7.7 percent but Mexico posting modest growth. China stood out as a bright spot, with sales climbing 10.3 percent in November, a rare win in a fiercely competitive and rapidly electrifying market.
Sales outside Japan were down just 1.5 percent, reinforcing the idea that Nissan’s international lineup still has traction—even if it’s not growing aggressively.
Exports: Fewer Ships Leaving Port
Exports from Japan added another wrinkle to the story. Total exports fell 25.1 percent in November, with Europe taking the biggest hit, down more than 30 percent. Shipments to North America ticked up slightly, but not nearly enough to offset declines elsewhere.
For the year to date, exports remain down 16.8 percent, underlining how Japan’s production slowdown is rippling outward.
Nissan’s November report doesn’t scream crisis, but it does whisper concern. Overseas plants and markets are keeping the company afloat, yet Japan’s steep declines in production and sales suggest structural issues that short-term fixes won’t solve.
In other words, Nissan isn’t losing the global race—but it’s starting several laps behind at home. And in today’s brutally competitive auto industry, that’s not a position any automaker can afford to hold for long.
Source: Nissan