Nissan to Shift Murano Production to U.S.

Nissan Motor Co. says it will relocate production of its Murano crossover vehicle from Japan to Canton, Miss., next year in time to begin making the next-generation model.

The Murano will join two other American-made Nissan models in Mississippi the Rogue small crossover and Leaf electric sedan that previously were imported from Japan. Nissan also opted last year to build its all-new Infiniti JX large crossover at its plant in Smyrna, Tenn.

CEO Carlos Ghosn has pledged to continue relocating production of models to their main markets to escape the profit-eroding effect of Japan's strong yen. Nissan has said it aims to locally produce 85% of the models it sells in North America by 2015 compared with 69% last year.