Nissan Motor Corporation is looking to transfer some of its Japanese production to the US, after the Donald Trump-led US government followed through on its threats to introduce a blanket 25% import tariff on all vehicles imported into the country, according to unconfirmed reports in Japan.
Earlier this week the struggling Japanese automaker announced it was halting exports of two Infiniti SUV models to the US from its Mexico facilities in response the new US import tariffs, while cancelling plans announced only in January to cut a shift on the Rogue SUV assembly line at its Smyrna plant in the US state of Tennessee.
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Nissan is expected to reduce production of the Rogue SUV at its Fukuoka plant in western Japan, while maintaining two shifts at its Smyrna plant in order to increase local production in the US, as part of its efforts to mitigate the impact of new US import tariffs. The Rogue is a key model for Nissan in the US, with almost 246,000 units were sold last year.
Nissan sold a total of 924,000 Nissan and Infiniti-branded vehicles in the US in 2024, of which around 16% were imported from Japan.
Nissan US sales rely more heavily on vehicles imported from Mexico, where production costs are lower. The company is also expected to shift significant production from Mexico to the US, where it has surplus capacity.
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By GlobalData
