A QX56 full-size, luxury sport utility vehicle rolled off an assembly line in Canton, Mississippi, on Tuesday night, becoming the Infiniti brand’s first US-built product.
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The QX56, based on parent Nissan’s Pathfinder Armada model, is the fourth vehicle to go into production at Nissan North America’s newest assembly plant in just eight months.
“I’m proud of this Canton team, which took on the big challenge of manufacturing and launching so many new vehicles in a timeframe never before attempted in the automotive industry,” said vice president for manufacturing Dave Boyer.
Employees from plants that have built previous Infiniti vehicles have worked in Canton preparing for the QX56 launch, and Infiniti-specific equipment on the assembly line and special steps in the manufacturing process help ensure the highest possible fit and finish. Every QX56 receives a double application of clearcoat paint, and after final assembly, vehicles are sent to a dedicated facility where they are inspected by specially trained, Infiniti-specific technicians. Finally, each QX56 is driven on a 15-mile course to determine if any adjustments are needed before shipment to the dealer.
The eight-seat QX56 had a Nissan Tennessee-built 5.6-litre, 315-horsepower V8 with five-speed automatic transmission, and luxury trim and equipment designed to take on US domestic rivals such as the Cadillac Escalade and Lincoln Navigator.
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Nissan’s Canton plant has the capacity to build up to 400,000 vehicles per year and is a $1.43 billion, 3.5 million square foot facility situated on approximately 1,400 acres about 15 miles north of Jackson, Miss. Its next product, to be launched later this year, will be the Nissan Altima mid-size sedan, which is also produced at Nissan’s first US plant, in Smyrna, Tennessee.
Nissan has so far invested about $4 billion into its three US plants in Smyrna and Decherd, Tennessee, and Canton.
