Nissan cuts Mexico production on low U.S. demand

MEXICO CITY, March 27 (Reuters) - Japanese automaker Nissan Motor Co. is temporarily slowing production in Mexico because of weak demand in the United States, the company said on Thursday.

Nissan's  Aguascalientes factory, which makes the Sentra and Versa models for export to the United States, is currently stopped, and is scheduled to stay idle for a total of seven days this month, the company told Reuters.

"Due to current demand in the U.S. market ... Nissan Mexico is adjusting production at the plant in Aguascalientes," the company said in an e-mail.

Nissan did not say how many fewer automobiles it will produce as a result of the production slowdown. Last year, workers at the plant, which closes on weekends, built around 26,000 cars per month, according to the company.

Mexico's automobile industry, a mainstay of the industrial sector, is widely expected to take a hit this year as its key export market, the United States, stumbles into an economic slump.

Mexican auto production grew fast in January and February but is expected to slow in coming months. (Reporting by Cyntia Barrera and Noel Randewich; Editing by Steve Orlofsky)