Renault Samsung May Slash Production by 50%

South Korea’s Renault Samsung Motors Co. is struggling to avoid cutting its production 50% after losing a key supply contract with Nissan Motor Co.

Last year the Renault affiliate made 201,000 vehicles at its sole plant in Busan, about 100,000 of them Rogue crossover vehicles for Nissan. The factory’s main products are sedans and SUVs for the domestic Korean market.

But The Nikkei says Busan’s output of Rogues shrank 25% this month as Nissan moves to end that contract under a corporatewide program to cut costs and streamline operations.

Renault Samsung had hoped the Busan factory could switch to building Qashqai SUVs for Nissan, according to the newspaper But a source says that deal collapsed earlier today. Now the Korean carmaker is in negotiations with Renault to find another model to make.