Nissan Smyrna starts production for all-new 2021 Nissan Rogue

Production of the all-new 2021 Nissan Rogue is officially underway at the award-winning Nissan Smyrna Vehicle Assembly Plant in Tennessee.

"Our U.S. manufacturing team rallied together like never before to overcome unprecedented challenges that could have impacted this moment," says Steve Marsh, senior vice president, Manufacturing, Supply Chain Management and Purchasing, Nissan North America. "We are ready to ramp up and put Rogue on the road for customers."

Nissan not only packed the 2021 Rogue with technology, but the company’s manufacturing and engineering teams use the latest technologies to bring it to life. Nissan is using enhanced applications of advanced manufacturing technology such as virtual reality and collaborative robots to build the vehicle.

Cobots: Nissan has deployed more collaborative car manufacturing robots with the new Rogue than it has with any other previous model launch. These robots effectively support process factory automation, resulting in improved safety performance and less strain on workers. The technology is being used to assist with a number of jobs to ensure repetitive tasks are done the same way every time. This helps free up workers to perform more skilled tasks and produce higher-quality vehicles.
Virtual reality: Working alongside frontline technicians, Nissan manufacturing engineers used virtual reality to troubleshoot issues before moving to the production floor. The technology not only helped to identify manufacturability concerns before the first steel was cut for production tools, but also shaped the design of process equipment through early, virtual feedback from production technicians, helping to prevent production delays.

Working alongside frontline technicians, Nissan production engineers use virtual reality to troubleshoot issues related to workability, sequence and ergonomics. (Nissan)

"Not only have we improved the way we build the new Rogue, the team is using this new technology to build all the vehicles in our U.S. plants with better efficiency and quality for customers," said David Johnson, vice president, Production Engineering and New Model Quality, Nissan North America. "It’s a win-win for Nissan and our customers."

Top-selling model

Building on 13 years of success in the U.S., the 2021 Rogue will lead Nissan’s turnaround as the company’s top-selling U.S. model, with nearly 3 million sold to date. 2021 Rogue has all the technology, capability and functionality to make life easier for today’s families, including:

Safety Shield 360: Nissan Safety Shield 360® comes standard across the entire Rogue lineup and includes Automatic Emergency Braking with Pedestrian Detection, Blind Spot Warning, Rear Cross Traffic Alert, Lane Departure Warning, High Beam Assist and Rear Automatic Braking.
ProPILOT Assist with Navi-link: Rogue was one of the first vehicles to offer Nissan's ProPILOT Assist, a hands-on, driver-assist technology that reduces the hassle of stop-and-go highway driving and makes long drives on the open highway easier. For 2021, the new ProPILOT Assist with Navi-link has been enhanced using next-generation radar and camera technology to provide smoother braking, better steering assist feel and improved detection performance when other vehicles cut into the lane.

Drivers will also enjoy improved driving dynamics, intelligent all-wheel drive, wireless charging and wireless Apple CarPlay®.

The new Rogue is the first of six new Nissan models for the U.S. that will be offered by the end of 2021, giving Nissan one of the freshest lineups among key competitors. It follows all-new versions of the Nissan Versa and Sentra.

The all-new Nissan Rogue arrives at dealers throughout the U.S. this fall. Customers can build their own 2021 Rogue online at www.NissanUSA.com.

Innovative manufacturing

Nissan has deployed more collaborative car manufacturing robots with the new Rogue than it has with any other previous model launch. These robots effectively support process factory automation, resulting in improved safety performance and less strain on workers. (Nissan)

Rogue has been in production at Smyrna Vehicle Assembly plant since 2013. The plant employs 7,000 people who have built more than 14 million vehicles since opening in 1983, with Rogue accounting for nearly 1.1 million of those vehicles.

The assembly line that produces Rogue ranked in the top five in quality performance among North American manufacturing facilities in the 2020 J.D. Power Initial Quality Study (IQS).

Nissan Smyrna currently produces six models: Rogue, Altima, LEAF, Maxima, Pathfinder and INFINITI QX60.

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