Japanese automaker slashes production of one of America's best-selling cars due to tariffs
A favorite American SUV is caught in the crosshairs of President Donald Trump's near-daily shifts on 25 percent automotive tariffs.
Nissan is slowing Japanese production of the Rogue — its top-selling vehicle in the US — by 13,000 units over the next three months.
That’s more than 20 percent of the quarterly US sales for the Rogue, which starts at $28,590.
'We are reviewing our production and supply chain operations to identify optimal solutions for efficiency and sustainability,' a spokesperson told DailyMail.com.
'The company currently has ample inventory at our US retailers that is unaffected by the new tariffs.'
This isn't a deathknell for the Rogue, which claimed the ninth slot in the 2024 US best-selling car race, beating out sales titans like the Toyota Corolla and the Honda Civic.
The car also has another final production facility in Tennessee, where cars are less exposed to Trump's tax policy.
But its the latest big shift for global automakers still trying to sell cost-effective vehicles at American dealerships.
Nissan is pulling back Japanese manufacturing of the Rogue, it's best-selling American car
Consumer advocates have unanimously told DailyMail.com that the tariffs imposed by the White House will make car prices and insurance premiums skyrocket for American consumers.
That advocacy seemed to reach the President yesterday. In comments to the press corps, Trump said he was considering modifying the auto levy because automakers 'need a little bit of time.'
President Trump has consistently said that tariffs will reinvigorate manufacturing plants in the US.
So far, the policy has had mixed responses from automakers. Nissan is a great example.
The company confirmed to DailyMail.com that it is keeping a second shift at its Tennessee plant to maintain US-based production of the Rogue.
Rumors flew around the plant that Nissan was considering cutting the shift. For now, it will keep American workers in the plant as the company plans its response to the import tax.
But as the policy helped temporarily maintain the factory jobs, some of Nissan's best-selling vehicles remain stuck in the middle of the federal government's car policies.
The Sentra and Versa, two of the lowest-cost vehicles in the US market, are built in Mexico and set to be slapped with Trump's 25 percent taxes.
The tariffs are the latest challenge for the automaker, who just named Ivan Espinosa the new CEO
Both Nissan sedans were a solution for hundreds of thousands of American consumers: the Versa is the sole vehicle left in the US market with a sub-$20,000 base price.
Nissan is discontinuing the model for 2026.
The Sentra, which has a base price of $23,000, was set to become the lowest-priced car in US showrooms in 2026.
But the Trump administration's current policy would impose the tax on both cars, likely increasing their base prices by thousands of dollars.
Meanwhile, American consumers have struggled to keep up with rising vehicle prices for years.
Last year, it took an average of $48,000 to purchase a new set of wheels from American dealerships.
Automotive insurance prices also skyrocketted at a faster clip than US economic inflation. Making cars and their parts more expensive only threatens to exacerbate the problem, advocates told DailyMail.com.
Plus, automakers may start to ship fewer cars to the US as they avoid tariffs.
Nissan has manufacturing plants in the US, Japan, Mexico, and the U.K.
Nissan and its luxury brand Infiniti operate final production facilities in Mexico. In response to Trump's tariffs, Infiniti paused shipments to the US on two of its cars.
The company confirmed a pause of QX50 and QX55 imports to the US.
The luxury crossovers, which were rumored to be on the chopping block for the 2026 model lineup, will be sent to other countries without import taxes.
Other automakers are also going through some major changes to manufacturing in response to Trump's taxes.
GM said it is ramping production of its American-made pickup trucks, but recently temporarily laid off 200 employees.
Ford is offering consumers huge discounts on some of its vehicles.
And Stellantis — the maker of Jeep, Dodge, Chrysler, and Ram — said it has laid off 900 US manufacturing employees.
