Donald Trump has praised French executive Christian Meunier for Nissan’s positive results in the United States, attributed to more localized production to circumvent tariffs. However, this apparent success masks a more nuanced reality, between global restructuring, overall production decrease, and persistent dependence on vehicles manufactured in Mexico.
Amidst his threats to Iran, Donald Trump has given a strong tribute to a French executive. His name is Christian Meunier, the head of Nissan in North America.
“Wow! Congratulations to Nissan and Christian Meunier, president for the Americas, for the immense success they are experiencing 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 AMAZING!”
The Japanese automaker Nissan is looking to increase local production to avoid tariffs on imported vehicles. This strategy has led to the continued production or strengthening of certain models in the American market, such as the SUV Rogue, and a reduction in imports from Mexico for the American market.
In a statement, Nissan points out that its global production decreased in February (by nearly 12%) except in the United States, where it increased by 9% during the period.
No entry-level vehicles in the United States
However, these congratulations from Donald Trump may be surprising. This development is part of a broader context of the group’s global restructuring, which benefits not only the United States. Concurrently, Nissan has announced production and workforce reductions in its American factories, particularly in Tennessee and Mississippi, with a significant drop in assembled volumes.
Furthermore, the manufacturer is lobbying the authorities in Washington to ease tariffs on cars produced in Mexico, stating that this is necessary to maintain affordability as the average prices of new cars reach historic highs.
“We could not manufacture these entry-level cars in the United States at the same cost, it’s impossible,” said Christian Meunier this week at the New York Auto Forum, ahead of the New York Auto Show, as reported by Bloomberg. “The problem is the margin.”
Vehicles produced in Mexico still accounted for more than one-third of Nissan’s sales in the United States last year.
Having worked at Ford and Nissan, Christian Meunier made a name for himself as the head of the Jeep brand at Stellantis, where he played a significant role in its global expansion and upscale positioning. In 2023, he returned to Nissan as the president for North America, tasked with improving the group’s commercial performance in this key market.
