Nissan Tops Harbour Efficiency Study Again; Brand Has Most Productive North American Car & Truck Plants for 2002

    DETROIT--June 18, 2003--Nissan North America's sprawling manufacturing facility in Smyrna, Tenn., once again topped all other car and truck manufacturing plants in automotive manufacturing efficiency in the highly respected Harbour Report North America 2003.
    The Smyrna plant produces Nissan Maxima and Altima sedans, the full line of Nissan Frontier pickup trucks and Nissan Xterra sport-utility vehicles. It has an annual capacity of 500,000 vehicles and employs approximately 6,300 people.
    "This honor is a direct result of our employees' tenacity for continuous improvement," said Emil Hassan, senior vice president for North American Manufacturing, Purchasing, Quality and Logistics for Nissan North America. "Those skills, honed over the years by employees who routinely look at all we do and ask how can we do it better, has truly made a difference for us. It is helping us not only build quality products that consumers like, but ensure long-term, profitable growth for Nissan, as well."

    Among the findings of the Harbour Report North America 2003 were:

--	Nissan led all manufacturers with an overall measurement of 16.83 assembly hours per vehicle made;
--	Nissan finished first in the mid-size car category (Altima), first in the small SUV category (Xterra) and first in the small truck category (Frontier);
--	Nissan finished first in overall car measurement;
--	Nissan finished first and second in the overall truck/SUV measurement.

    The annual award did not include the company's Canton, Miss., plant, which began production of the all-new 2004 Nissan Quest minivan on May 27, the first of five vehicles to be launched in Canton during the next 12 months. In addition to the Quest, vehicles produced at the Canton facility will include the Nissan Pathfinder Armada full-size sport-utility vehicle, the Nissan Titan full-size pickup truck, an all-new Infiniti full-size sport-utility vehicle and additional production for the Nissan Altima.
    At full capacity, the Canton plant will produce 400,000 vehicles a year, boosting Nissan's U.S. vehicle manufacturing capacity to 900,000 cars and trucks annually. Engines for each of those vehicles -- as well as all those produced at the Smyrna facility -- will be supplied by Nissan's powertrain plant in Decherd, Tenn.
    "We anticipate a healthy 'intramural competition' between Smyrna and Canton when both plants are up and running at full capacity," Hassan said. "Maintaining a high level of efficiency contributes significantly to achieving enduring, profitable growth -- the primary aim of the NISSAN 180 business plan."
    In North America, Nissan's operations include automotive styling, engineering, consumer and corporate financing, sales and marketing, distribution and manufacturing. More information on Nissan in North America and the complete line of Nissan and Infiniti vehicles can be found online at www.NissanUSA.com and www.infiniti.com.