The first Nissan Frontier rolled off the assembly line in Smyrna in 1998. Last month, the company touted production of its millionth Frontier truck at its Canton, Mississippi, plant, and looks to keep riding the growing trend of light truck sales.
“Last year for the Frontier alone we probably made about 64,000 to about 70,000 vehicles. This year we plan on making 100,000,” due to growing demand, said Victor Taylor, head of supply chain for Nissan North America.
Technically speaking, the Frontier is a light-duty pickup. But in the eyes of Taylor, the truck is a testament to US manufacturing.
Since moving production of the Frontier to Canton in 2012, truck sales have been steady, and are up 24% since last May.
That increase comes as similar light trucks now account for a larger share of U.S. passenger vehicle sales, according to T-D Economics.
“I think the growth is unlimited, because we’ve seen the power in localization and ‘build where you sell.’ So we’re selling in the US, we should manufacture the product in the US,” said Taylor.
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