Nissan starts 2025 vehicle production in Tennessee amid reported job, production cuts
The very first 2025 Nissan Murano rolled off the assembly line in Middle Tennessee this week as the company's stock continues to drop and plans for reducing overall production capacity move forward.
U.S. Nissan operations are based in Franklin, with manufacturing plants in Smyrna and Decherd in Tennessee and in Canton, Mississippi. Across the two Tennessee plants, Nissan employs over 9,000 people, has invested around $9.4 billion and sustains the capacity to produce 500,000 vehicles annually.
After Nissan announced about 9,000 global layoffs and a 20% manufacturing reduction in November, the automaker committed to restructuring and revitalizing its vehicle lineup "to turnaround its performance."
One of those new offerings is the brand's redesigned 2025 Murano, a midsize SUV that features heated, cooled and massaging front seats, dual 12.3-inch media displays, an invisible hood view and a voice-activated Google assistant.
"It's been a long road to get here, filled with obstacles, collaboration and good old fashioned hard work," Nissan Smyrna plant vice president Brian Crockett said. "It's a tremendous achievement to get a new vehicle ready to launch, especially that vehicle as advanced and complex as this one."
Crockett said quality results that exceeded expectations allowed the plant to move the Murano launch up by three weeks.
Nissan relocated Murano production to Tennessee from Mississippi in 2020 and has since produced over 145,000 of the vehicles, or roughly 3,020 per month. Now, Crockett said, the goal is to ramp production up to 6,700 per month by March 2025.
"Tennessee continues to lead the nation's automotive industry, and Nissan has been a vital partner in creating manufacturing success for more than 40 years," Tennessee Gov. Bill Lee said in a statement. "The start of production for the new Murano demonstrates Nissan's commitment to innovation, job creation and our highly skilled workforce, and I thank them for their continued investment."
Meanwhile, Bloomberg News reported in late November that Nissan plans to build 100,000 fewer vehicles in its Tennessee and Mississippi plants than it did last fiscal year. A Nissan spokesperson did not comment directly on the reports but said the company was evaluating production forecasts in response to the market.
Amid struggling sales and a shifting regulatory landscape, Nissan officials have maintained the value of its Tennessee plants and their employees to the company. Crockett said Smyrna, and specifically Murano production, will "continue to play a key role" in the company's success.
Other vehicles built in Smyrna include the Nissan Rogue, Pathfinder, Leaf and Infinity QX60. About 70 miles south in Decherd, a separate plant builds engines for all four of those models, plus others for markets outside of the U.S.
"We should not think that the Smyrna and Decherd plants are anything other than two parts of a whole," said David Sliger, vice president, Decherd powertrain operations. "That whole is Tennessee manufacturing, made in the great state of Tennessee. Our success depends on each other."
Hadley Hitson covers business news for The Tennessean. She can be reached at hhitson@gannett.com. To support her work, subscribe to The Tennessean.