Nissan Expects US Plants To Double Export Markets By 2015

(RTTNews) - Nissan Motor Co Ltd. (NSANY.PK) projects its U.S. plants will nearly double the number of export markets it will be able to serve by 2015.

In August, Nissan shipped the first of more than 900 U.S.-built, right-hand drive Pathfinders to Australia and New Zealand. With the addition of these two new markets, Nissan is now able to export vehicles from its Smyrna, Tennessee vehicle assembly plant to 61 markets around the world.

In 2014, Nissan's Canton, Miss. vehicle assembly plant will become the global source for Murano production, creating export opportunities in as many as 119 markets.

"Shipping right-hand drive vehicles half way around the world from Tennessee at one time may have seemed exotic to us, but now it's an increasingly common event on our path to becoming a net exporter," said Bill Krueger, senior vice president, Manufacturing, Purchasing, Production Engineering and Supply Chain Management, Nissan Americas.

Over the next six months, Nissan expects to expand U.S. exports of Nissan Altima, Pathfinder, Maxima and Infiniti QX60 models into new markets such as Ghana, Nigeria, Philippines, Vietnam, Israel, Argentina and parts of Latin America.