The Breakdown:
- Nissan has confirmed it is canceling its plans to produce electric vehicles in the United States.
- The automaker had planned to turn its Mississippi factory into an EV hub.
- Nissan will build trucks instead of EVs at the factory.
Nissan no longer plans to build electric vehicles at its Canton, Mississippi, factory. After announcing a $500 million investment into the facility in 2021, with plans to build two EVs there, the automaker is now shifting focus and will build several new trucks instead.
According to Automotive News, the Japanese automaker informed its suppliers on April 30 that it had canceled plans to build EVs in Canton. The automaker confirmed the decision with the publication, saying in a statement that the move aligns with the "market conditions, customer demand, and Nissan’s updated strategic direction."
One of the new vehicles Nissan plans to build in Mississippi is the Xterra, a body-on-frame SUV that will share its platform with other models. It is expected to go on sale in 2028 with a starting price of under $40,000.
Other vehicles in the plan include a redesigned Frontier and a new three-row SUV that could be a rugged version of the Pathfinder. The vehicles will allegedly share most of their parts, including everything ahead of the B-pillar.
Nissan currently assembles the Frontier and Altima at the Canton factory, but the plant is underutilized. It’s capable of producing over 400,000 vehicles a year, but Nissan only sold 158,500 examples of both models in 2025. Less than a year ago, a report alleged Nissan would build Honda-branded pickups at its factory.
Motor1’s Take: Nissan's Canton factory is underutilized, but this plan for building more trucks should help counter that. The plan to build 200,000 EVs a year by 2028 was far too ambitious when the automaker made the announcement five years ago, and like other automakers, is changing course.
Source: Automotive News
