NEW YORK: Renault-Nissan alliance has planned to increase export figures of the Nissan Rogue crossover from South Korea to the United States by 38 percent because of the rising demand in North America.
The 38 % surge in planned export quota for 2015 has been triggered by the rising demand in North America, with the alliance ready to build 110,000 Rogue crossovers at Renault’s South Korean assembly facility for the US market this year – up from a previously anticipated 80,000 units, read a carmaker’s statement. Nissan started building the Rogue crossover in South Korea for shipping to the United States last year, in a move to increase factory utilization of Renault Samsung – the local division of the French alliance partner. Renault Samsung, hampered by larger rivals Hyundai and Kia also saw its market share squeezed by the recent surge of German imports – with domestic deliveries slashed in half back in 2012 and slowly recovering ever since.
On the other hand Nissan has envisioned and introduced a new version of the Rogue crossover back in 2013, with the all-wheel drive model now the brand’s second-best in terms of sales in the United States. While it still lags behind the Altima mid-size sedan, the Rogue managed to squeeze a 13 percent surge last month – with US demand for SUVs and pickup trucks riding the low gas prices. Nissan also localized some of the production of the Rogue crossover from Japan to the United States, building the model in a plant in Tennessee since 2013.
