NISSAN MULLING THIRD AUTO PLANT IN THE US TO MEET EV DEMAND

Nissan is considering adding a new auto plant in the U.S. to keep up with growing demand for electric vehicles, a top executive at the Japanese automaker said.

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"It may not be a surprise that we go for a third plant, Chief Operating Officer Ashwani Gupta told reporters at Yokohama headquarters.

Nissan Motor Co. now has two auto plants in the U.S. One in Canton, Mississippi makes the Titan pickup truck and Altima sedan, among other models. The other in Smyrna, Tennessee makes the Leaf electric car, Pathfinder sport utility vehicle and other models.

Each of the plants employs thousands of workers and has produced millions of Nissan vehicles.

The third plant would not just be an added assembly line to an existing plant but a totally new facility, although it may be built as an extension of an existing plant, Gupta said. That would add several thousand jobs in the area, although its realization would be some years down the road.

"The importance of localization will increase year on year," Gupta said.