Nissan in the US is planning to export more vehicles over the next few years on the back of increased production capacity at its US manufacturing facilities.
Nissan projects its US plants will nearly double the number of export markets it will be able to serve by 2015.
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In August, Nissan shipped the first of more than 900 US-built, right-hand drive Pathfinders to Australia and New Zealand. With the addition of these two new markets, Nissan is now able to export vehicles from its Smyrna, Tenn. vehicle assembly plant to 61 markets around the world.
In 2014, Nissan’s Canton, Miss. vehicle assembly plant will become the global source for Murano production, creating export opportunities in as many as 119 markets, Nissan says.
“Shipping right-hand drive vehicles half way around the world from Tennessee at one time may have seemed exotic to us, but now it’s an increasingly common event on our path to becoming a net exporter,” said Bill Krueger, senior vice president, Manufacturing, Purchasing, Production Engineering and Supply Chain Management, Nissan Americas.
Some 12% of Nissan’s US production was exported in 2012. Export volumes are expected to approach 14% of US production in 2013 as the company continues to localise global products to the US and launch in new markets around the world.
Krueger said: “While we quickly increase our capacity to satisfy local demand in the region, Nissan’s US plants have been charged to take a lead role in the production of some of our most important global models. As a result, more American-built Nissan vehicles will make their way to more global markets than ever before.”
Over the next six months, Nissan expects to expand US exports of Nissan Altima, Pathfinder, Maxima and Infiniti QX60 models into new markets such as Ghana, Nigeria, Philippines, Vietnam, Israel, Argentina and parts of Latin America.
