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Nissan moving next-gen Murano production from Japan to Mississippi

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.

Nissan's dismal 2019: Where does Japan's struggling brand go from here?

Auto sales have gradually slowed from their peak during the boom years that followed the global recession, but Nissan's rapid decline stood out even in a year when few high-volume manufacturers had much to be excited about.  Of the "Japanese 3," Nissan's 2019 performance was by far the most troubling. Through November, when the company last posted its global sales figures, its volumes were down 8 percent compared to 2019. Here in the United States, its full-year numbers were down 9.9% in an industry that slid just a hair more than 2 percent overall.  Meanwhile, Honda managed a slight increase in U.S. sales (0.2%) and Toyota, much like the industry in general, finished the year down approximately 2%. Like Nissan, Honda and Toyota have remained committed to cars — including compact and midsize sedans — and have a comprehensive portfolio of offerings in the key SUV and crossover segments.   On paper, Nissan's lineup checks all the right boxes. From the subcompact Kicks up to the Armada, it has something for sale in virtually every possible nook and cranny of the people-mover segment, but almost all of these trucks (and trucklets) took a beating in 2019. Only the baby Kicks managed to improve on its 2018 sales, which isn't saying a whole lot, considering it was barely sold in 2018 to begin with.  In fact, the bonus volume contributed by Kicks helps obscure just how poorly some of Nissan's key offerings performed last year. Combined Rogue and Rogue Sport sales slid 15%; Murano was down more than 18%; the Pathfinder and Armada managed to pace the general industry, dropping 2.8 and 1.9%, respectively, but the astute reader will note at this point that we've yet to single out any bright spots. The news was even worse on the truck side. Frontier was down 9.1%. Titan? Down 37.5%. Crossovers and SUVs are selling. Trucks, even from import brands, are also selling. Toyota's mid-size Tacoma was up in 2019; both it and the full-size Tundra still more than tripled the volume of their Nissan competitors. Further muddying the waters, Honda managed its year-over-year volume increase without selling a full-sized pickup at all.  What, then, is Nissan's problem? To borrow an oft-used phrase, "It's the product, stupid." The most striking evidence of this issue is the Rogue, which competes in the compact crossover segment — a collection of vehicles that essentially sell themselves.

Nissan Sway could see production

After unveiling the Sway concept at the 2015 Geneva Motor Show, Nissan was crystal clear that the showcar previewed the potentially bolder shape for a future compact hatchback. While it's likely a peek at the future Micra sold in other markets, not much is stopping similar styling from arriving to US showrooms, too. According to Nissan design boss Shiro Nakamura to Automotive News, the Sway was specifically designed to attract interest to visitors in Geneva. However, he believes that the shape could be attractive to buyers in other parts of the world. The showcar's styling blends elements from earlier Nissan concepts with the deeply V-shaped front end off the Lannia Concept and the floating roof from several others. The company isn't divulging a possible powertrain quite yet, though. Nissan is considering spinning the Versa Note off into its own product likely just called the Note, according to Automotive News. When it comes time for a new model around 2018, one way to really differentiate the newly independent vehicle might be to take on the Sway's much more radical styling. Related Video: