The Nissan Smyrna assembly plant is an automobile assembly plant in

Smyrna, Tennessee Smyrna is a town in Rutherford County, Tennessee. Smyrna's population was 53,070 at the 2020 census. In 2007, '' U.S. News & World Report'' listed Smyrna as one of the best places in the United States to retire. Smyrna is part of the Nashville ...

, that began production in 1983 and employs approximately 8,000. The plant has an annual capacity of 640,000 cars, which was the highest in North America in 2017.

History

The Nissan Smyrna Assembly Plant was announced on October 31, 1980 for the production of Datsun pickup trucks. The company had also considered two locations in

Georgia Georgia most commonly refers to: * Georgia (country), a country in the Caucasus region of Eurasia * Georgia (U.S. state), a state in the Southeast United States Georgia may also refer to: Places Historical states and entities * Related to the ...

, but ultimately chose the Tennessee site due to its central location within the U.S. automotive market and the ability to transport parts to the site at a lower cost. Construction on the plant began on February 3, 1981. Initially expected to cost $300 million (equivalent to $ in ), the final cost was $660 million (equivalent to $ in ). While the plant was under construction, the

Tennessee Department of Transportation The Tennessee Department of Transportation (TDOT) is a multimodal agency with statewide responsibilities in roadways, aviation, public transit, waterways, and railroads. The mission of TDOT is to provide a safe and reliable transportation syste ...

(TDOT) constructed Nissan Drive (now part of State Route 102), a four-lane highway which connects the plant to nearby

Interstate 24 Interstate 24 (I-24) is an Interstate Highway in the Midwestern and Southeastern United States. It runs diagonally from I-57, south of Marion, Illinois, to Chattanooga, Tennessee, at I-75. It travels through Illinois, Kentucky, Tennessee, ...

. Construction was completed in 1983, and the first vehicle was produced on June 16 of that year. A dedication ceremony was held for the plant on October 21, 1983. On May 26, 2010, work began on a battery manufacturing plant onsite for electric vehicles, primarily the

Nissan Leaf The , stylized as LEAF, is a compact five-door hatchback battery electric vehicle (BEV) manufactured by Nissan. It was introduced in Japan and the United States in December 2010, and its second generation was introduced in October 2017. The Lea ...

. This plant began operational in December 2012, and the plant began manufacturing the Leaf the following year, the first electric vehicle to be manufactured in Tennessee. Nissan decided to sell its battery plant to GSR Capital in July 2017. However, this sale did not actually happen and after three delays was canceled in July 2018 as GSR Capital did not pay on time.

Models manufactured

Former

Mercury Villager The Mercury Villager is a minivan that was marketed by the Mercury division of Ford. The first of two minivans sold by Mercury, two generations were sold from the 1993 to 2002 model years. Competing against the Chrysler minivans and the General ...

(1993-2002) * Nissan Quest (1999-2002) * Nissan Pickup (1983-1997) *

Nissan Sentra The Nissan Sentra is a series of automobiles manufactured by the Japanese automaker Nissan since 1982. Since 1999, the Sentra has been categorized as a compact car, while previously it occupied the subcompact class. Until 2006, Sentra was a reba ...

(1985-1999) * Nissan Altima (1992-2020) *

Nissan Frontier The Nissan Frontier is a nameplate used on two different pickup truck models by Nissan: * Nissan Frontier (international), an alternative nameplate for the NP300/Navara on some markets * Nissan Frontier (North America), a rebadged NP300/Navara fro ...

(1998-2012) *

Nissan Xterra The Nissan Xterra is a truck-based compact SUV manufactured and marketed by Nissan from 1999–2015 across two generations; the first (1999–2004) sharing a platform as well as front bumper, hood, A-pillar, windshield and front doors with the ...

(2000-2012) *

Suzuki Equator The Suzuki Equator was a mid-size pickup truck based on the Nissan Navara and assembled by Nissan. It was first sold in the US for the 2009 model year with prices starting at $17,220, and made its debut at the 2008 Chicago Auto Show. The Equat ...

(2009-2012) * Infiniti JX35 (2013)

Current

Nissan Maxima The Nissan Maxima is a full-size car manufactured and marketed by Nissan and offered as Nissan's flagship sedan primarily in North America, the Middle East, and China — and currently in its eighth generation. Having debuted for model year ...

(2003-present) *

Nissan Pathfinder The Nissan Pathfinder is a range of sport utility vehicles manufactured by Nissan since 1985. The vehicle was originally sharing Nissan's compact pickup truck platform, and having been through four generations is now in its fifth incarnation. Si ...

(2005-present) *

(2013-present) * Infiniti QX60 (2014-present) *

Nissan Rogue The Nissan Rogue is a compact crossover SUV produced by the Japanese automobile manufacturer Nissan. It made its debut in October 2007 for the 2008 model year. Beginning in 2013 for the 2014 model year, the model has been paralleled with the X- ...

(2014-present) *

Nissan Murano The is a mid-size crossover SUV manufactured and marketed by Nissan since May 2002 for the 2003 model year, and currently in its third generation. As Nissan's first crossover SUV for the United States and Canada, the Murano was designed at Nissan ...

(2020-present)

References

{{Reflist

External links

Public tours available
Nissan Motor vehicle assembly plants in Tennessee 1983 establishments in Tennessee Buildings and structures in Rutherford County, Tennessee Buildings and structures completed in 1983 Tourist attractions in Rutherford County, Tennessee