Nissan to shift 2 cars out of U.S.

[Biker16]

Nissan to shift 2 cars out of U.S.

 

Associated Press

 

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TOKYO -- Japanese automaker Nissan Motor Co. Ltd. plans to move production of two vehicles to Japan from the United States to save costs on automobiles produced in smaller quantities, according to a news report Sunday.

 

Nissan will move production of the Quest minivan and the Infiniti QX56 sport utility vehicle from the company's plant in Canton, Miss., over 2008-09, Japan's Nihon Keizai business daily said. The paper did not identify its sources.

 

Nissan said it sold 40,000 Quests and 15,000 QX56s in North America in 2005.

 

The Mississippi plant's pickup truck production would increase.

[silvrsvt]

Guess that Titan isn't as selling as well as they thought it would :P

 

I really wonder how badly Toyada will fumble the Tundra launch and how it will make $$$ at its San Antonio plant if the sales stay the same.

[TBN LEISHA]

It looks like they need the plant space to build more pickup trucks. They must be selling well enough????

[waymondospiff]

My question is, to WHERE are they shifting production?

 

As far as I know, and I know little about Nissan production, the Titan/Armada/QX56/Quest are all NA only products produced only at Mississippi. Why would Nissan move production (presumably to Japan) without a supplier base or platform mates to lower production costs? That makes no sense.

 

The only case where I can see this making sense is if Miss.'s problems (well documented quality problems since the plant opened in 2003/4) are so severe and unchanging that Nissan is moving the more complex products out of the plant to focus on quality. While a noble idea, it still would cost more for the QX56 & Quest.

 

Instead, my guess is that the slow selling Quest & QX56 are being cancelled. Perhaps a Renault Espace-dervied vehicle to replace the Quest? Or perhaps an ElGrande from Japan...maybe not. Maybe a three-row crossover would replace the BOF QX56...more like the M-B GL- & R-Class and Audi Q7. Maybe a three-row Murano replacement, more like the Fairlane idea. Just throwing out some ideas.

 

Scott

[Michael Reynolds]

My question is, to WHERE are they shifting production?

 

As far as I know, and I know little about Nissan production, the Titan/Armada/QX56/Quest are all NA only products produced only at Mississippi. Why would Nissan move production (presumably to Japan) without a supplier base or platform mates to lower production costs? That makes no sense.

 

The only case where I can see this making sense is if Miss.'s problems (well documented quality problems since the plant opened in 2003/4) are so severe and unchanging that Nissan is moving the more complex products out of the plant to focus on quality. While a noble idea, it still would cost more for the QX56 & Quest.

 

Instead, my guess is that the slow selling Quest & QX56 are being cancelled. Perhaps a Renault Espace-dervied vehicle to replace the Quest? Or perhaps an ElGrande from Japan...maybe not. Maybe a three-row crossover would replace the BOF QX56...more like the M-B GL- & R-Class and Audi Q7. Maybe a three-row Murano replacement, more like the Fairlane idea. Just throwing out some ideas.

 

Scott

 

Good points.

 

I doubt they are moving these vehicles to produce more Titans, especially with new competition coming in from Toyota.

[ebritt]

Good points.

 

I doubt they are moving these vehicles to produce more Titans, especially with new competition coming in from Toyota.

I think the Tundra will compete waaaay more with the Titan than it will with Ford or GM.

[NLPRacing]

My question is, to WHERE are they shifting production?

 

Back to Japan (CNN Link).

 

Here's some "Spin" from Autoblog...

 

Don't think of the Nissan plant in Canton, Mississippi as losing the ability to produce two models, think of it as gaining the capacity to build more pickup trucks...

 

...On the bright side, no production capacity will be lost in Canton, where Nissan plans to increase truck production to meet the current manufacturing levels.

 

How well could those ugly Titans be selling anyway?

[Michael Reynolds]

How well could those ugly Titans be selling anyway?

 

56, 251 down 17.2% from last year

[waymondospiff]

Back to Japan

Yeah, I read that. But the larger point I was making in my post is: with the suppliers setup here in the US, products that are NA specific, riding on NA specific platforms, and with the value of the yen & dollar fluctuating, why/how/what/where would Nissan move production? It makes no sense.

 

My guess is the death of the Quest & QX56 as we know it and replacement with different vehicles sourced on new platform/s. Perhaps the QX56 & Quest dies and are replaced with a "people mover" type vehicle like the Ford "Fairlane." Maybe a Renault Espace-derived American minivan/people mover?

 

Many different possibilities. I just have a hard time believing, as the article makes it sound, that Nissan is just going to pluck the QX56 & Quest out of Mississippi and move the products & production lines wholesale to a facility in Japan. That makes little to no sense.

 

Of additional interest, however, would be if the oft-reported quality issues at Mississippi have anything to do with this move. Perhaps with fewer products the plant managers will focus more on quality processes.

 

Interesting, interesting.

 

Scott