Nissan reaches Canton milestone
CANTON — Nissan celebrated production of its five millionth vehicle at its assembly plant here last week.
The vehicle, a 2023 Nissan Frontier Crew Cab PRO-4X in Nissan’s Cardinal Red TriCoat, rolled off the line at the Canton Vehicle Assembly Plant on Tuesday morning Oct. 4.
"This week, the Canton team celebrated a major milestone for our plant, demonstrating how far we've come since establishing vehicle manufacturing in Mississippi," said David Sliger, vice president, Manufacturing, Canton Vehicle Assembly Plant.
Marleen Yowakim, Corporate Communications for Nissan Group of North America, said this milestone represents nearly 20 years of Nissan manufacturing in Mississippi. Though the truck that rolled off the line was not an electric vehicle, she says this milestone “paves the path for electric vehicle production.”
Electric vehicle production is part of the company's long-term vision they have dubbed Nissan Ambition 2030.
"The power of Nissan Canton is rooted in its employees, who will take us to new heights – continuing to drive the EV revolution for our company,” Sliger said.
For nearly two decades, employees at Nissan Canton have assembled high-quality, award-winning vehicles, Yowakim said. The plant's opening in 2003 brought automotive manufacturing to Mississippi for the first time and has since contributed to the state's economic development.
“While its history is rich, the team looks toward future transformation,” Yowakim said. “One that will bring two all-new, all-electric models to the U.S. market.”
Nissan officials announced in February at the Canton facility to a crowd that included Gov. Tate Reeves that they would like to begin production of two new electric vehicles in Canton in 2023 though those vehicles will likely not be available in the North American market until 2025. Nissan officials said at the time that the upgrades represented a $500 million investment in the facility.
Madison County Economic Development Director Joey Deason said at the time that the announcement was “Like winning a national championship in college football.”
The exact models have not yet been identified though the February announcement suggested one would be a Nissan product and the other an Infiniti. Nissan Chief Executive Ashwani Gupta said at the time Nissan wanted to have 15 electric vehicle models available on the global market by 2030.
The plant has become important to Mississippi, creating more than 25,000 jobs statewide, contributing more than $20 million to local nonprofit organizations and logging 12,000 volunteer hours to build stronger communities, Yowakim said.
In the U.S., Nissan’s manufacturing footprint spans the country with nearly 15,000 employees, more than 400 parts and supplier partners and 11 parts distribution centers. Collectively, she said, the team has produced more than 19 million vehicles and 13 million engines.