Autoblog

Nissan moving next-gen Murano production from Japan to Mississippi

Jeffrey N. Ross — Fri, 11 Jan 2013 18:31:00 EST

Filed under: Hirings/Firings/Layoffs, Plants/Manufacturing, Crossover, Nissan

Celebrating 10 years of operation at its Canton, Mississippi assembly plant, Nissan has announced that it will be adding a seventh vehicle to the plant's portfolio. Starting in 2014, production of the next-generation Murano will move from Japan to Mississippi alongside its platform mate, the Altima, which is a part of Nissan's plan to build 85 percent of its US products domestically.

In addition to the Altima, the Canton facility also produces the Armada, Xterra, Titan, Frontier and NV vans, and back in June, production of the Nissan Sentra production was moved to Canton creating an extra 1,000 jobs. At this point, there is no indication about how many jobs the Murano line will add, if any.

This is the second announcement this week of production being added in the US as Honda said that the Accord Hybrid production would move to Marysville, Ohio where the standard Accord sedan is currently built.

The new Murano will be inspired by the Resonance Concept, which was teased in the image above earlier this week and will debut next week at the Detroit Auto Show.

Scroll down for Nissan's official statement on the Murano's production.

Continue reading Nissan moving next-gen Murano production from Japan to Mississippi

Nissan moving next-gen Murano production from Japan to Mississippi originally appeared on Autoblog on Fri, 11 Jan 2013 18:31:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Nissan: 85% of vehicles to be built in North America by 2015

Chris Tutor — Fri, 10 Aug 2012 18:01:00 EST

Filed under: Plants/Manufacturing, Nissan

Nissan is determined to grab eight percent of global market share by 2016, and is investing heavily in its North American facilities to make that happen. After a $5.2 billion cash infusion, Nissan will grow by 9,000 jobs, expand capacity by 425,000 vehicles and 200,000 lithium-ion batteries.

With its existing NA plants, Nissan already produces all its core models here. But by 2015, the company plans to build at its North American plants 85% of all Nissan and Infiniti models sold in the U.S. Nissan's Smyrna, Tenn. plant will soon add the Leaf and Rogue to its lineup and the Canton, Miss. plant will add the Sentra to its truck production. To pull off that expanded lineup, Canton will get 1,000 new jobs boosting its payroll to 4,500 workers.

Nissan also has an engine plant in Decherd, Tenn., which will add 90 jobs this year and up to 400 new jobs eventually, to help build electric motors for the Leaf as well as Daimler.

In Mexico, Nissan plans to spend $2 billion to add a third plant with 3,000 workers making 175,000 subcompacts by late next year.

Finally, Nissan's Farmington Hills, Mich. research group will get 150 new co-workers for vehicle engineering and development.

Nissan: 85% of vehicles to be built in North America by 2015 originally appeared on Autoblog on Fri, 10 Aug 2012 18:01:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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UAW invokes civil rights movement in bid to unionize Nissan plant

Zach Bowman — Thu, 02 Aug 2012 10:14:00 EST

Filed under: Hirings/Firings/Layoffs, Nissan, UAW/Unions

The United Auto Workers continues to pursue the unionization of a foreign automaker's plant in the U.S. and has redoubled its efforts on the Nissan facility in Canton, Mississippi. According to Reuters, the union plans to paint the organization effort as "the civil rights battle of the 21st century." Gary Casteel, one of the UAW's highest-ranking officials in the South has been quoted as saying the civil rights experience was fought in Mississippi. Since 70 percent of the Canton workforce is black, the UAW hopes the civil rights card will bring more votes toward unionization.

It's unclear whether the tactic will resonate with workers as the UAW has had little luck getting a foreign-owned plant to organize over the past 30 years. The union has pressed Nissan especially hard by attempting to unionize the company's Smyrna, Tennessee plant twice. Workers voted against the move both times. UAW President Bob King says that his organization needs to incorporate foreign-owned plants if it intends to survive. The UAW has seen membership slide off to a quarter of its numbers in 1979.

The Canton plant employs 3,900 workers and will soon be home to the next-generation Sentra. According to the Reuters report, the average full-time worker there earns $59,600 per year, with five hours of overtime per week. Veteran UAW workers, meanwhile, bring home $69,500 per year.

UAW invokes civil rights movement in bid to unionize Nissan plant originally appeared on Autoblog on Thu, 02 Aug 2012 10:14:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Nissan cranking up Canton output to accommodate 2013 Sentra [w/video]

Zach Bowman — Fri, 29 Jun 2012 11:01:00 EST

Filed under: Budget, Sedan, Plants/Manufacturing, Nissan

Nissan has announced that it will build the 2013 Sentra at its Canton Vehicle Assembly Plant in Canton, Mississippi. The Japanese automaker had already committed to moving both its Frontier and Xterra SUVs to Mississippi from Nissan's plant in Smyrna, Tennessee. The manufacturer says it will hire 1,000 workers to keep pace with the three new models in the Canton plant, pushing the facility's total workforce to 4,500. The location also builds the 2013 Altima, Armada, Titan and NV commercial trucks. Sentra production is expected to begin in the fourth quarter of this year.

Nissan will also build the 2013 Sentra at its Aguascalientes, Mexico plant, where the company builds the current sedan. The company says the two-front approach will allow it to produce more Sentra models than before in order to better keep up with demand. Scroll down to read the official press release and to watch a Nissan-produced faux news report.

Continue reading Nissan cranking up Canton output to accommodate 2013 Sentra [w/video]

Nissan cranking up Canton output to accommodate 2013 Sentra [w/video] originally appeared on Autoblog on Fri, 29 Jun 2012 11:01:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Nissan offers to make Peyton Manning a Tennessee Titan... sort of *UPDATE

Jeff Sabatini — Mon, 19 Mar 2012 12:27:00 EST

Filed under: Truck, Etc., Marketing/Advertising, Nissan, Celebrities

In yet another case of a carmaker hoping to get media coverage by giving a vehicle to a millionaire celebrity who probably doesn't want it (and certainly doesn't need it), Nissan has offered to build a Titan pickup for Peyton Manning. Or at least it has issued a press release to that effect.

The hook here is that the Tennessee Titans NFL franchise is wooing the former Indianapolis Colts quarterback and likely future NFL Hall of Famer, with owner Bud Adams offering Manning a lifetime contract, according to ESPN. Nissan, of course, relocated its North American operations to Tennessee in 2006. Manning also has roots in the state, as he attended the University of Tennessee, where he was the Volunteers' all-time leading passer.

We suspect Manning has better things to do right now than help Nissan stage a further publicity stunt, given that he's spent the past week working out for two other NFL teams in addition to Tennessee. That's not stopping the PR team at Nissan from suggesting that Peyton might want a Titan, the slowest-selling full-size pickup in America, because it's built in Canton. That's Canton, Mississippi, rather than Canton, Ohio, where the NFL Hall of Fame is located.

And lest anyone get all up-in-arms over Nissan's homer-ism, the company has said it will give Manning the truck regardless of which team he signs with "as a gesture of gratitude recognizing your great accomplishments and philanthropic contributions to our national community." Click past the jump to read the full press release.

*UPDATE: If a slew of reports are to be believed, it appears Mr. Manning is headed the Denver Broncos. As some readers have noted in Comments, we, too, hope that Ford takes this opportunity to build Peyton - and the rest of us - a new Bronco.

Continue reading Nissan offers to make Peyton Manning a Tennessee Titan... sort of *UPDATE

Nissan offers to make Peyton Manning a Tennessee Titan... sort of *UPDATE originally appeared on Autoblog on Mon, 19 Mar 2012 12:27:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Nissan NV commercial truck production gets underway

Jeff Glucker — Sat, 22 Jan 2011 13:15:00 EST

Filed under: Minivan/Van, Truck, Plants/Manufacturing, Work, Nissan

Nissan NV work trucks - Click above for high-res image gallery

Nissan has kicked off production of its all-new 2012 NV commercial truck. Scheduled to go on sale this spring, the NV will be available in three variants; NV1500, NV2500 HD and NV3500 HD. Two different configurations will also be offered: a standard roof or high roof that offers more interior work and/or cargo space.

Power comes from a choice of familiar six or eight-cylinder engines. The 4.0-liter V6 produces 261 horsepower and 281 pound-feet of torque while the 5.6-liter V8 delivers 317 hp and 385 lb-ft of torque. Both engines drive the rear wheels via a five-speed automatic transmission.

Body-on-frame construction should help the NV go a long way in the rugged work truck category. Inside, a few trick features will help further set it apart from competitors like the Ford Transit Connect. The passenger seat folds flat to offer up its backside as a workspace. The large, lockable center console offers plenty of storage and 120V outlets are installed front and rear.

The 2012 Nissan NV starts at an MSRP of $24,950. Once the NV configurator comes online, we (and tradesmen in need of a new ride) should be able to elevate that sticker price significantly.

Gallery: 2011 Nissan NV

[Source: Nissan]

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Nissan NV commercial truck production gets underway originally appeared on Autoblog on Sat, 22 Jan 2011 13:15:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Nissan to shut down U.S. plants for six days

John Neff — Mon, 24 Apr 2006 09:55:00 EST

Filed under: Car Buying, Plants/Manufacturing, Nissan

In anticipation of its upcoming 2007 models arriving, Nissan has decided to swallow a hard pill and shut down production at its three U.S. plants for six days by the end of July. Scuttling its plants in Canton, MS and Smyrna and Decherd, TN will trim 18,000 vehicles from its previously planned production schedule.

The first shut down day occurred on April 17, the second will be May 26th and lengthen the plant's Memorial Day weekend, while the final four will give workers a very large Fourth of July weekend. All six days will be treated as vacation days for employees, which we assume means they'll still be on the clock.

Additional down days could be added if sales slow even further ahead of the '07 arrivals, which include the Versa Hatchback and Sedan, Sentra, Quest, Altima and Altima Hybrid, and Infinit G35 Sedan.

[Source: Nissan]

Nissan to shut down U.S. plants for six days originally appeared on Autoblog on Mon, 24 Apr 2006 09:55:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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