Infiniti Production To Leave Japan; North America, China Possible New Sites

Derek Kreindler
by Derek Kreindler

Nissan’s upscale Infiniti cars can only be bought outside of Japan, but most of the cars are made in Japan. That will change, said Nissan CEO Carlos Ghosn in New York.

Infiniti cars are produced at Nissan plants in the Tochigi and Fukuoka Prefectures of Japan. Nissan/Renault CEO Carlos Ghosn said he will move more Infiniti production outside of Japan, The Nikkei [sub] reports. Earlier this year, Nissan started producing the Infiniti JX SUV in Smyrna, Tennessee.

Citing the strong yen as a reason, CEO Carlos Ghosn said that more Infiniti production will be moved to ‘North America,’ and China. While talking to reporters after a speech, Ghosn said:

“We are suffering in that most Infiniti products are made in Japan. We have most sourcing in Japan, but none of the sales. Obviously this is not the right system. We should produce cars where we sell them…. North America is a potential base, and China.”

Infiniti production in China had long been rumored. This would be the first time that Infiniti production in the Middle Kingdom has been officially acknowledged, indicating a successful conclusion of the negotiations with Nissan joint venture partner Dongfeng.

“We’re going to make announcements soon about a new base for sourcing for Infiniti,” Ghosn promised. ”

Nissan has already started moving the global HQ of Infiniti to Hong Kong.

Derek Kreindler
Derek Kreindler

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  • Chocolatedeath Chocolatedeath on Apr 05, 2012

    That would be good thing if they did. After the move they would have the ability to present a business plan for a new Q and make it a true 7series, S class, LS, A8 competitor and they wouldnt have to break the bank doing so. They could could save even more if they would just develop it on a new platform that was developed for weight savings and overall performance and lux then use that platform to use on other models such as the M and FX. Or they could just use the extra cash to make the cars they have better and offer real performance variants that equal the M cars from BMW and AMG.

    • See 1 previous
    • Blockmachining Blockmachining on Apr 05, 2012

      @TTACFanatic If the product is being built in the Smyrna plant, quality issues will not be an issue. The workforce at that facility has many years of production under their belts and have launched in excess of 50 different models over the years. Their workforce is well trained and have excellent leaders. When the Canton, MS plant launched, there were many issues including: Lack of production experience from both suppliers and the Nissan technicians and unfortunately a lack of general education. Some of the applicants were unable to even fill out an application by themselves. Things have improved in Canton; however, they still are not up to par with say the Decherd and Smyrna TN workforces.

  • 22_RE_Speedwagon 22_RE_Speedwagon on Apr 05, 2012

    Call me crazy but I like my Japanese cars made in Japan. I guess my '08 G35 may be my last Infiniti.

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