Dialing up EV sales could mean expanding Nissan’s U.S. industrial footprint. The automaker operates two Southeast assembly plants and an engine factory. But Gupta did not reveal future manufacturing expansion plans this week.
“As of today, we have enough production capacity in Smyrna and Canton,” he said. “But in the future, you never know. If the demand increases and the customer is asking for more, then we are ready to do more.”
However, as Nissan builds more EVs, it will require more investment in battery production capacity.
Nissan sources batteries for the U.S.-made Leaf hatchback from the Smyrna battery plant, majority-owned by Chinese energy company Envision Group. That battery factory was originally built and owned by Nissan at the outset of the EV era, with plans to supply as many as 150,000 vehicles a year.
But Nissan’s early plans for EV adoption did not materialize. AutoForecast estimates that the Smyrna battery plant can supply 30,000 to 50,000 vehicles with battery packs.
Gupta indicated that Nissan is considering other sources.
“We will localize battery [production] in the U.S.,” Gupta said, declining to elaborate on the location or timing of new factories.
Meanwhile, Nissan is working to develop all-solid-state battery technology, which promises to lower the cost and weight of battery packs.
Asked whether Nissan would team up with Envision to build those new batteries, Gupta demurred.
“It’s too early to say,” he said. “First, let’s develop it by 2024. When we commercialize it, we will see our localization strategy in different markets.”
