Nissan cuts output at top Japanese plant, sources say.

By Maki Shiraki and Daniel Leussink

TOKYO (Reuters) – Nissan (OTC: NSANY) cut planned production by a third at its top Japanese plant this month, a move that will also see it slash output of a flagship crossover model, two people said, as it struggles with weak U.S. demand for its ageing line-up.

The Japanese automaker on Thursday reported an almost complete wipe-out in April to June profit and cut its full-year outlook after it was forced to offer deep discounts in the U.S., highlighting the deepening risk it faces in its largest market.

Unlike rivals Toyota (NYSE:TM) and Honda (NYSE: HMC), Nissan doesn’t offer hybrid models in the U.S. and therefore hasn’t benefitted from recent upswing in demand from U.S. consumers for hybrids as enthusiasm around EVs has cooled.

The car maker now plans to produce just under 25,000 vehicles at its Kyushu plant in southwest Japan this month, according to two people with knowledge of the situation. Both declined to be identified because the information isn’t public.

Nissan was not immediately able to comment, a spokesperson said.

The company expects to make around 10,000 of the Rogue crossovers for export at the plant, half of what it had previously planned to make this month of the popular car, the sources said.

In addition to Kyushu, Nissan also makes Rogue models in Smyrna, Tennessee.

Line workers in Kyushu were now working fewer than the usual eight hours a day due to the scaled-back production and were clocking a little more than seven hours a day, one of the people said.