’22 Frontier line exclusive to Canton

Local dignitaries were on hand along with hundreds of Nissan employees and executives to watch the first 2022 Frontier pickup truck developed and produced at the Canton facility roll off the assembly line last week.

Tim Fallon, vice president of manufacturing at the Canton plant, said the rollout would likely bring “incremental jobs” during the event last Thursday.

Inclusion of new technology in the trucks, Fallon said, would likely necessitate future job openings though he was not sure how many new jobs would be or at what pace they would become available.

Fallon said consumers could expect the new Frontier pickup trucks to roll onto car lots in the fall.

Gov. Tate Reeves spoke at the event congratulating the workers. He said he was proud of the state and its relationship with Nissan.

Reeves said Nissan decided to locate a plant in Canton 18 years ago because it was in their best interest. He noted that it was in their best interest because of the roughly 5,000 employees “that work under this roof every single day.”

Reeves said the plant represents technology and manufacturing jobs that will be in the state for the next 50 years and beyond.

“I am convinced they will be here another 100 years,” Reeves said.

Reeves said the plant has proven they can get Nissan’s product to the market and noted that the plant can produce 400,000 vehicles a year.

Since they have broke ground, Nissan has invested roughly $3.5 billion into the state, Reeves said.

During the presentation, Nissan America Chairman Jeremie Papin said that bringing the Frontier line to Canton was something they had “talked about for quite some time” and that it gave the Canton plant one of the “freshest lineups in the industry.”

Papin said the city of Canton has made the plant what it is today.

“The success of this plant is directly linked to the city of Canton,” Papin said.

Part of the success, Papin said, has been the “loyalty and passion” of the Nissan customer base. In North America alone Nissan has sold about 4 million compact and mid-sized trucks in North America since they started producing the Datsun in 1955.

Canton Mayor Dr. William Truly said he remembers Nissan coming in when he was vice mayor of Canton.

“I’m so proud that Nissan is here,” Truly said. “The work that it has done and the work that it is going to do.”