Nissan Weighs Third Shift at Tennessee Plant as 2027 Rogue Hybrid Targets U.S. Turnaround

Nissan Motor is considering adding a third production shift at its Smyrna, Tennessee assembly plant to support the 2027 Rogue and its new e-Power hybrid variant, Chairman of Nissan Americas Christian Meunier told CNBC. The 6 million-square-foot plant currently runs two shifts; adding a third at Smyrna and Nissan's Canton, Mississippi facility could lift U.S. annual output to roughly 1 million vehicles, up from nearly 487,000 in 2026. Nissan unveiled the 2027 Rogue with its series-hybrid e-Power system on Monday, September 21, 2026, in Yokohama, Japan. Gas-engine production begins at Smyrna in spring 2027, with U.S. hybrid output to follow; models will be imported from Japan in the interim. Meunier said the Rogue e-Power targets the Toyota RAV4 directly. Nissan aims to build 80% of U.S. retail volume domestically by 2030 and has ruled out new factories for now. Through the first half of 2026, Nissan's U.S. sales rose about 10% while the industry fell roughly 3%, per Cox Automotive.