Nissan North America plan to move production of its Murano crossover model from Japan to the company’s Canton, Mississippi, facility, adding about 400 employees to its workforce of more than 5,000.
The Murano, Nissan’s flagship crossover, will be the eighth vehicle built in Canton. Production of the new Murano in Canton will begin in 2014.
“As we look back on ten years of manufacturing in Canton, it’s become clear throughout the Nissan network that ‘Made in Mississippi’ is a stamp of quality and great people,” said Bill Krueger, vice chairman of Nissan Americas. “With the addition of this new model in Canton, Nissan is well on its way toward meeting our goal to manufacture 85 percent of the vehicles we sell in the U.S. right here in North America.”
“As the first automotive assembly plant to open in Mississippi, Nissan’s Canton plant propelled our state’s automotive industry to new heights,” said Brent Christensen, executive director of the Mississippi Development Authority. “We greatly value the partnership we have with Nissan, the high-quality jobs the company has created for thousands of Mississippi residents and the contributions Nissan has made to our state’s economy, and we look forward to continuing to work with the company in the years ahead.”
“Nissan continues to exceed our expectations, and I greatly value the contributions the company has made in Mississippi,” Governor Phil Bryant said. “Over the last ten years, Nissan has had a tremendous economic impact on central Mississippi, has catalyzed our state’s automotive industry and has continued to grow its Mississippi operations. I appreciate Nissan’s trust in our workforce, and I believe it led to the company’s decision to produce the new Murano in Canton, further demonstrating Mississippi’s strength as a manufacturing location.”
Over the past decade, Nissan has continued to invest in its Mississippi operations. The Canton plant has grown from building one vehicle model to seven, including the award-winning Altima, the Armada full-size SUV, the Xterra mid-size SUV, the Titan and Frontier pickup trucks and NV commercial and passenger vans.
