Workers assemble cars at the workshop of Dongfeng Nissan's Xiangyang factory in Hubei province in December 2025. WANG HU/FOR CHINA DAILY
Foreign automakers, once content to manufacture and sell within China, are turning their joint-venture factories into global export hubs, tapping the world's largest auto market for cost advantages and advanced local technology as they seek to boost competitiveness.
Nissan is among those using China as a production and innovation springboard to enhance competitiveness in overseas markets. The Japanese automaker will soon ship the N7 sedan, made by Dongfeng Nissan, to Latin America and Southeast Asia. The Frontier Pro pickup will also go to those regions plus the Middle East, with NX8 SUV exports planned.
"These products are good not only for China. The technologies, the speed of development and the cost that we have achieved in the China ecosystem can play a very important role for us overseas," Nissan Chief Executive Ivan Espinosa said at Auto China 2026 in Beijing in late April.
The automaker has set up an import-export joint venture in China with a short-term export target of more than 100,000 units and a long-term goal of around 300,000.
