Nissan North America recently said “bon voyage” to its one-millionth U.S.-built export. The car was manufactured at Nissan’s Smyrna, Tennessee plant and destined for sale in South Korea.
“To have achieved one million units of exports proves that we are making attractive and globally competitive products,” said John Martin, senior vice president, Manufacturing, Supply Chain Management and Purchasing, Nissan North America, Inc. “Quite simply, it shows how well-designed, well-built cars are appreciated universally by all customers, no matter where they live and buy the product.”
Nissan’s record-setting performance is attributable to a more than $10.1 billion investment in American manufacturing operations. More than 31 years after the start of U.S. manufacturing, 13.7 million vehicles, 7.6 million engines and 57,000 lithium-ion battery packs have been proudly manufactured in the U.S.
“It provides a buffer,” said Martin. “In terms of the volume that exports allow us to make, and it provides a buffer for us against domestic demand. Because naturally we have seasonality in the U.S., Mexico and Canada, they are our biggest markets, but the seasonality in other parts of the world are certainly different. And that acts as a buffer and helps to keep our production level at a pretty stable level throughout the year.”
Between its Smyrna, Tennessee and Canton, Mississippi manufacturing plants, Nissan exports to 68 markets worldwide. For example, the Nissan Altima is now exported to countries such as Africa, Brazil, Korea, Russia and Mexico. The Nissan LEAF is shipped to places such as Canada, Japan, Korea and Mexico.
“Our exports are driven by our proven reputation for quality, durability and reliability, or QDR,” said Martin. “My experience is that the most demanding customers in the world are those in the United States and Japan. So, servicing U.S. customers and meeting their high expectations only serves to improve our overall product quality and enhance their attractiveness to our export customers.”
Top export markets for Nissan’s U.S.-manufactured vehicles include New Zealand, Taiwan, Asia Pacific and Canada.
