Nissan to Increase U.S. Production as 2027 Rogue Hybrid Launches

The Japanese automaker currently builds the Rogue along with other Nissan and Infiniti crossovers at a 6 million-square-foot assembly plant in Smyrna, Tennessee, on two production shifts. It also operates a large plant in Canton, Mississippi, where it builds the Nissan Altima sedan and Frontier midsize pickup.

"We're now maxing out the production capacity in the U.S.," Meunier 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."

Additional production at assembly plants typically means hundreds or thousands of new jobs, according to CNBC. The expansion effort comes as the Trump administration has focused on increasing employment and domestic production in the U.S. auto industry.

U.S. manufacturing of the hybrid is expected to begin next year, after the spring production launch of the 2027 Rogue with a traditional gasoline engine at the Tennessee plant. In the meantime, Meunier said Nissan plans to import the vehicles from Japan to get them to market more quickly, lift sales and support an ongoing global turnaround plan.

Meunier said that if Nissan can add a third shift to each of its assembly plants, U.S. production would rise to roughly 1 million units annually, up from nearly 487,000 in 2025. Nissan aims 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. market. It is the first hybrid of its kind for the American market. The e-Power system is a series hybrid: it uses the engine as a generator to power the vehicle's electric motors, which then propel the vehicle. It operates like emerging extended-range electric vehicles, or EREVs, but has a smaller battery and does not require a plug. The engine does not power the wheels; only electric motors do.

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.

The Rogue is a sales leader for Nissan in the U.S. It competes in the small crossover segment against the Toyota RAV4 and Honda CR-V, which have the best-selling hybrid options in that category. Meunier said Nissan plans to position the Rogue e-Power against the Toyota RAV4. That may include an unconventional sales option to allow potential customers to test drive both vehicles at Nissan dealerships, which would not typically have a Toyota available.

"The hybrid power that we're launching on Rogue is going to really be the boost to our performance," Meunier told CNBC. "It's been quite remarkable to be able to grow without having a hybrid in the U.S. because the hybrids are obviously becoming more and more popular."

The focus on the Rogue hybrid comes after Nissan and other automakers lost billions of dollars on all-electric vehicles amid a pullback in regulatory support and lackluster consumer demand. Nissan has said e-Power is a better solution than EVs or even traditional hybrids for U.S. consumers, especially amid inflated fuel prices due to the Iran war.

"It's going to make people look at Nissan with different eyes," Meunier said. "A lot of customers that didn't even consider us until the hybrid comes to market."

Nissan's renewed focus on the U.S. is part of a global turnaround plan. Under the strategy, the automaker intends to streamline its lineup by eliminating low-performing models and increasing its use of technologies such as artificial intelligence. The plan targets 1 million vehicle sales for the Nissan brand in both the U.S. and China by the 2030 financial year, and annual sales in Japan of 550,000 cars by that time.

In the U.S., Meunier said he is satisfied with progress since returning to Nissan last year. After several years of struggling sales, Nissan's U.S. sales through the first half of the year were up roughly 10%, while Cox Automotive reported a roughly 3% decline for the broader industry during that period.