Nissan eyes increasing U.S. production as new Rogue hybrid launches

Nissan Motor is looking to increase its U.S. production as it launches the 2027 Rogue crossover, including with a new hybrid model that the company views as a crucial offering for American consumers.

"We're now maxing out the production capacity in the U.S.," Christian Meunier, chairman of Nissan Americas, told CNBC. "The next step is going to be three shifts, and I'm pretty optimistic that with the launch of the new Rogue that is happening in the next couple months, we'll be able to do that pretty quickly with the launch of the hybrid."

The Japanese automaker currently produces the Rogue alongside other Nissan and Infiniti crossovers at a 6 million-square-foot assembly plant on two production shifts in Smyrna, Tennessee. It also has another large manufacturing plant producing the Nissan Altima sedan and Frontier midsize pickup truck in Canton, Mississippi.

Additional production at assembly plants typically means hundreds, if not thousands, of new jobs. Nissan's moves come as the Trump administration has been focused on increasing employment and domestic production in the U.S. auto industry.

U.S. manufacturing of the hybrid is expected to start next year after the spring production launch of the 2027 Rogue with a traditional gas engine at the Tennessee plant.

In the meantime, Meunier said Nissan plans to import the vehicles from Japan as a way to get them to market more quickly to lift sales and help with an ongoing global turnaround plan for the company.

Meunier said if Nissan can add a third shift to each of its assembly plants, it would boost the automaker's U.S. production to roughly 1 million units annually, up from nearly 487,000 in 2025.

Nissan has a target to produce 80% of the vehicles it sells in the U.S. domestically by 2030, but the company has no plans for a new plant as of now.

"I think we're very well equipped to succeed without major investment and a new factory and everything else. Maybe after 2030," he said. "Over the next four or five years, we'll see."

Nissan on Monday officially revealed the 2027 Rogue with its new "e-Power" technology for the U.S., which is the first hybrid of its kind for the American market.

It uses the engine as a generator to power the vehicle's electric motors that then propel the vehicle. It operates like emerging extended-range electric vehicles, or EREVs, but has a smaller battery and doesn't require a plug. It also does not use the engine to power the wheels, just electric motors.

Meunier said the Rogue hybrid and resurrecting the Xterra off-road SUV were his top vehicle priorities when he rejoined Nissan in January 2025 after four and a half years with Jeep. That included pulling ahead the Rogue hybrid twice for the U.S.