2021 Nissan Rogue Officially Enters Production

Sep. 22, 2020 9:01 AM ET by Karl Furlong Industry News / 12 Comments

The compact crossover will begin arriving at US dealers this fall.

As Nissan's top-selling model, the all-new, third-generation Rogue simply has to succeed. We see no reason why it shouldn't, as the recent unveiling of the compact crossover showed it to be more attractive, more luxurious, and with better tech than the version it replaces.

We'll find out how it drives soon enough, too, because production of the 2021 Nissan Rogue is now officially underway at the company's assembly plant in Smyrna, Tennessee, where the Altima and Pathfinder are also assembled. This plant employs 7,000 people and over 14 million vehicles have been produced there since 1983.

Almost three million Rogues have found homes in the US so far, and the 2021 version is likely to build on this success.

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

It's not just the Rogue itself that's more advanced than before, but Nissan's manufacturing processes, too. The brand now uses more collaborative car manufacturing robots or 'cobots' than with any other previously launched model. They perform a number of repetitive tasks, reducing the strain on workers, who are free to handle more complex tasks.

Virtual reality tech was used, too, allowing engineers to troubleshoot issues prior to working on the production floor. David Johnson, vice president for Production Engineering and New Model Quality, explains: "Not only have we improved the way we build the new Rogue, [but] the team is using this new technology to build all the vehicles in our US plants with better efficiency and quality for customers."

Along with the recently introduced Versa and Sentra, the Rogue is one of six new Nissans to be introduced in the US before the end of 2021. Even though the range lacks a hybrid option which could see it lose out to rivals like the Toyota RAV4, Nissan has high hopes for the third-gen model.

The Rogue will arrive at dealerships this fall.

2021 Nissan Rogue Officially Enters Production

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2021 Nissan Rogue Officially Enters Production

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