Donald Trump praised French executive Christian Meunier for Nissan’s success in the United States, which he attributed to more localized production to bypass tariffs. However, this apparent success masks a more nuanced reality, with global restructuring, overall production decrease, and persistent dependence on vehicles manufactured in Mexico.
Among two threats towards Iran, Donald Trump recently paid a strong tribute to a French executive. His name is Christian Meunier, head of Nissan in North America.
“Wow! Congratulations to Nissan and Christian Meunier, president for the Americas, for the tremendous success they are having in the United States!” shared the American president on the Truth Social platform. “They have relocated most of their production to our beautiful country, mainly due to tariffs, and the results are INCREDIBLE!”
The Japanese automaker Nissan aims to increase local production to avoid tariffs on imported vehicles. This strategy has led to maintaining or strengthening certain models produced on American soil, such as the Rogue SUV, as well as reducing imports from Mexico to the American market.
In a statement, Nissan also highlights that its global production decreased in February (by almost 12%) except in the United States, where it increased by 9% during the same period.
No entry-level vehicles in the United States
However, Donald Trump’s congratulations may be surprising. Because this evolution is part of a broader context of global group restructuring, not solely benefiting the United States. In parallel, Nissan has also announced production and workforce reductions in its own American factories, particularly in Tennessee and Mississippi, with a significant decrease in assembled volumes.
Additionally, the automaker is pushing Washington authorities to ease tariffs on cars made in Mexico, arguing that this is necessary to maintain affordability as average prices of new cars are reaching historic highs.
“We could not manufacture these entry-level cars in the United States at the same cost, it’s impossible,” Christian Meunier stated this week during the New York Auto Forum, leading up to the New York Auto Show, as reported by Bloomberg. “The issue is the margin.”
Vehicles produced in Mexico still accounted for over a third of Nissan’s sales in the United States last year.
Having worked at Ford and then Nissan, Christian Meunier notably led the Jeep brand at Stellantis, where he greatly contributed to its global expansion and upscale positioning. In 2023, he returned to Nissan as president for North America, tasked with improving the group’s commercial performance in this key market.
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