Nissan Drops Canton EV Plans for Trucks and SUVs

Nissan has scrapped plans to produce electric vehicles at its Canton, Mississippi assembly plant, opting instead to manufacture body-on-frame trucks and SUVs amid shifting U.S. market demands.

The Japanese automaker notified suppliers on April 30 of the change, confirming in a statement to Automotive News that the decision aligns with "market conditions, customer demand and Nissan's updated strategic direction." The Canton facility, a 4.7 million-square-foot plant capable of producing over 400,000 vehicles annually, currently builds the Frontier pickup and Altima sedan but operates well below capacity, with combined sales of those models totaling 158,500 units in 2025.

In 2021, under its Ambition 2030 plan, Nissan committed $500 million to retool the plant for EV and battery production, targeting 200,000 electric vehicle sales in the U.S. by 2028. The strategy included models for Nissan and Infiniti brands. Those ambitions have faltered as U.S. EV sales slowed, with Nissan's deliveries plunging 89 percent year-over-year to 724 units in the first quarter of 2026. Factors include high entry prices and the expiration of the $7,500 federal tax credit, contrasting with robust global...