Nissan North America Inc. announced Thursday it will invest $1 billion over the next four years to expand the production capacity of a vehicle assembly plant and an engine and transaxle factory in Tennessee.
NNA, which oversees Nissan Motor Co.'s operations in North America, said the move will mark the first major investment by Nissan since building the engine and transaxle factory in Decherd, Tenn., in 1997.
The vehicle assembly plant in Smyrna, Tenn., which manufactures the Altima sedan and other models, will see its production level increased to 440,000 vehicles in fiscal 2001 from the current 380,000. The capacity will eventually be expanded to 500,000 in the following years, NNA said.
The Decherd plant will be expanded to produce six- and eight-cylinder engines currently not produced in North America. Construction is scheduled to begin this fall, and six-cylinder engine output will begin in June 2002.