Is Nissan positioning Egypt as its primary manufacturing and export hub on the continent with new Africa head appointment?

Nissan Motor tapped Mohamed Abdelsamad (LinkedIn) as managing director of its Africa operations, Abdelsamad said in a LinkedIn post. The 14-year veteran of the Japanese automaker will take up the role after most recently serving as the managing director of Nissan Egypt since 2023. Abdelsamad brings over 20 years of experience in the automotive industry, having previously worked with other industry players, including Mitsubishi Motors Egypt and ALJ Daihatsu Misr.

Why this matters: The appointment of an Egyptian and the former managing director of the automaker’s Egyptian arm could be a signal that Nissan is looking to double down on Egypt as its main base of assembly — and hopefully manufacture. The timing also gives us confidence to speculate, with Nissan announcing at the start of the year that it’s selling its Rosslyn plant in South Africa, which has for a long time stood as its primary manufacturing hub on the continent and centerpiece for its regional export strategy.